Joshua 21:43-45 So the LORD gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. 44 The LORD gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45 Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
The conquest of the land did not happen in a single moment — it unfolded over years of battles, endurance, and sustained faith. What began at the Jordan required perseverance through opposition, setbacks, and continued trust in God. City by city and territory by territory, Israel advanced, not by one decisive act alone, but through a journey of ongoing reliance on the Lord.
Yet when the story is brought into full view, Scripture summarizes it with a powerful declaration: “Not one word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken.” God finished what He promised. Every delay, every battle, and every season of waiting did not cancel His word — they confirmed the process by which it would be fulfilled. What God had spoken generations earlier came to pass in its entirety. Time did not weaken the promise; it revealed its certainty.
The wilderness had prepared them. It stripped away dependence on Egypt, exposed weakness, and formed a people who learned to rely on God. Faith sustained them, carrying them through the Jordan, through Jericho, and through every challenge that followed. And in the end, the promise was fulfilled—not partially, but entirely according to the word of the Lord.
This is the pattern of God. He does not speak casually, and He does not abandon what He begins. What He promises, He performs. Yet His fulfillment often unfolds through a process that requires endurance. The inheritance was given, but it had to be possessed. The land belonged to them by covenant, but it was walked out through perseverance.
Revival follows this same pattern. It is not sustained by a single moment of breakthrough, but by a people who continue — through resistance, through testing, and through time—holding fast to what God has said. The harvest is not gathered by those who start well, but by those who remain faithful until the work is complete. Promise becomes possession through perseverance.
Beloved, do not measure God’s faithfulness by your current moment — measure it by His word. He has not forgotten what He has spoken over your life, your calling, or this generation. This is not the hour to grow weary — it is the hour to continue. Revival and harvest belong to those who remain steady, who refuse to retreat, and who press forward until the promise is fully realized. If we endure in faith, we will see it — not one word will fail. Every promise will stand, and what God has spoken, He will surely bring to pass.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]You may recall a few months ago we sent out an unspoken prayer request on behalf of the ministry without giving any details. At the time, among many other things going on, we went in for an ultrasound and the doctor told us that he wasn’t able to see a nose bone. He went on to say that this was a likely indication that the baby had Downs Syndrome and strongly suggested we get some tests done. When Rivka politely told him that we wouldn’t need any tests and that even if the baby did have Downs, he is a gift from God and there was no way we would abort him, the doctor was taken aback. He insisted that we would be causing an injustice to allow a baby to be born with a defect such as this. And believe it or not, two other doctors agreed.
At any time, how receptive your heart is will determine your response to God’s word. If your heart has been trampled, and harden by bitterness and unforgiveness, then receiving God’s message for you will become more difficult. If your heart is like shallow soil on top of a rock, then your mind comprehends God’s truths, yet these truths do not penetrate your heart to make a real difference in your actions. Or if you are concerned about the riches of this life, then your focus is on the here and now, and these pursuits prevent God’s Word from taking hold and producing quality fruit. But a heart that is on good soil, receives the Word, applies the Word, and in due time bring forth abundant fruit! This is God’s desire for you — to have a heart cultivated on good soil!
For those of you who didn’t get that title, it’s a well known children’s Suzuki violin rhythm.
Not long ago, I came across an old issue of Homemade, where Dr. Ernest Mellor writes on fostering good relationships. This is so good I had to share.
Some of the wealthiest individuals in the United States are real estate developers. They make their money by buying a piece of property that is terribly run down, seemingly useless, without any value to the naked eye and reforming it completely, making it look brand new! These businessmen are not as much interested in what is on the property as they are interested in the land it’s on!
A sailor who was shipwrecked on a desert island was captured by some of the natives of that island. They carried him off on their shoulders to their village, where he was sure he would end up being the main course. But instead, they put a crown on his head and made him king. He was enjoying all the attention he was receiving but was growing a little suspicious. He started making inquiries and discovered that their custom was to crown a stranger king for a year and at the end of that year the crowned king would be sent to a deserted island where he was allowed to starve to death.
With war drums beating even more intensely in Iran and Syria, we’ve received numerous phone calls and emails expressing their concerns — and understandably so! Nevertheless, even in this climate of anxiety, we are preparing to enter into Shabbat (the Hebrew word for Sabbath) this afternoon. And as we do, we are remembering again, the deep lesson of God’s entering into His rest following the six creation days.
This is one of my favorite promises in the Bible — that God turns mourning into dancing! He takes away the anguish of being clothed in sadness and replaces it with gladness. However, notice what God doesn’t do — simply stop your mourning and make it disappear. No, He transforms it…into joy!