Have you ever had trouble getting aluminum foil to tear properly while simultaneously keeping it in the box? Aluminum foil and I have been at it for years. Seems like every time I start rolling the foil out it would suddenly want to take a field trip to the kitchen floor. The stuff always gave me problems…..until recently.
I learned something new about aluminum foil that I had never known. At both ends of aluminum foil boxes are tabs. These tabs are put there by the manufacturer with a purpose. If one simply pushes the tabs in, the aluminum foil will stay nicely in the box when you open the lid and tear a piece of foil off. This was a game changer for me. No more chasing aluminum across the kitchen floor. Then I started kicking myself in the butt about it. All those years of frustration could have been avoided. My solution was right there in front of me the whole time. I had possession of what I needed but never took advantage of it.
God constantly challenges people to take hold of the things He has promised. Take a look at these verses from the Bible.
“2 Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. 3 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.”
-Joshua 1:2-3, NASB
God is giving directions to His people. Moses is gone and the new leader Joshua is about to take the people into the Promise Land. What’s interesting about this passage is the fact that God says, “I have given it to you.” They haven’t entered the Promise Land yet but its already theirs. God gave it to them. They simply had to claim it. They had to take hold of it. They had to step out in faith, cross the Jordan River, and follow through.
Now that’s peculiar. You can have something that belongs to you, and still need to take possession of it to enjoy it. Do you know what belongs to you? There are promises in life that God has given you, but in order to reap their benefits you must take hold of them. Many times, like the aluminum foil tabs, they are in front of our faces all the time and we do not even realize it. God, like a wise manufacturer, made these promises available to us. Life would be a lot less frustrating if we understood what God has placed at our fingertips and we made the most of it. Consider what might happen in your life if you realized all that God has promised and you put it into practice? Take hold of God’s promises. They belong to you. They are within your reach.