168. Every Place Given
Joshua 1:2 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
God promises, “I have given you every place where you walk.” The words, “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon,” means wherever you walk. “Walk” in Biblical language means “living behavior,” whatever you do. Of course, the physical and earthly promise given specifically to Joshua is that the Lord will give the Land to Joshua and the children of Israel. This repeats the promise already given many times before. Now the Lord is being specific and graphic, so that Joshua will be strong and take courage in this new venture that God has called him to. The promise came true in Joshua’s life as recorded in the Book of Joshua. The Lord did miracles and gave Joshua victory over the inhabitants in order to claim the land promised.
The spiritual promise applies to us in this way: wherever you go, over whatever territory you walk, in all aspects of your life, I will be with you to give victory over your enemies so that you may peacefully live in the spiritual kingdom I am giving you. This Kingdom is earned for you and given to you by Jesus (Greek name for ‘Joshua’). This means for us that we may claim for the kingdom the land, the territory, the situation, the surroundings, and the people in it while we are there, for the Kingdom of God.
This is quite a bold promise to believe, but with the faith of Christ we can take it to heart. The paths we walk, the roads we drive or ride on, and the buildings we go into may be claimed for the Kingdom of God when we are there. If you get caught in a bad place where worldly temptations abound, you may either fight or flee. Usually, we avoid those places and don’t go there, but sometimes we get stuck in a dangerous situation, temptations lurk, tempers flare, words are spoken, bad things are done, but the Christian has the authority to defuse the situation with the power of love, kindness, forgiveness, etc. Christians may walk through this world and affect the atmosphere of the places where they go. We don’t always see the effects, but we believe that we make a difference. Satan may show up anywhere, but we still own the victory through faith in Jesus Christ.