Heart to Heart: Possessing Our Promised Land

The new year is a time of new beginnings. It’s an opportunity for us to leave behind the previous year—especially if it has been a difficult one—and press forward into a new season.

I am reminded of a time when the children of Israel were about to begin a new season in their lives. As they prepared to enter the Promised Land, Moses said to them, “Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may LIVE and INCREASE and may ENTER and POSSESS the land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers” (Deut. 8:1 NIV 1984).

In this verse we can see four things the Lord wants us to do as we move into the “promised land” of this new year: live, increase, enter, and possess. In other words, live the life God  wants you to live; increase in the things of God and His blessings; enter the promises of God; and possess what God said belongs to you.

The Word of God is filled with promises of what belongs to us. But until we possess these promises, they won’t be anything more than words in a book. The word possess means “to take hold of.” And to take hold of what belongs to us, we must first know what the Word says, because knowing the Scriptures puts us in a position to receive.

For instance, God said He would make the crooked places straight and the rough places smooth (Isa. 40:4). He promises to open doors that no man can shut (Rev. 3:8). Health and healing belong to us (1 Peter 2:24), as well as protection and safety (Ps. 91). We are also promised that all of our needs will be met (Phil. 4:19).

Once we know what is ours, we must hold on to it and never let go. We can remind God of what He said in His Word and thank Him for His promises manifesting in our lives. This year, let’s enter our promised land and triumph in every area. Let’s take God at His Word and receive everything He has for us!