I marvel at the way God brings us to the place where He can do the next thing in our lives. God clearly has a plan to make us fruitful, and He doesn't just push us or move us without first making some preparation. Joshua 5:12 says, "And they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." There was a time in Israel's history when virtually everything they needed God provided for them and, I might add, He did it supernaturally. They needed food, and God provided them with manna. And when they were thirsty, God opened their own personal well that sent water gushing forth from a rock. And when they were confused about direction, God set in the sky a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day to clearly mark their path.

They had been cared for like a mother would watch over her newborn child. They had few worries or concerns. But then God seemed to have a change of heart. He would still sustain them daily by His grace, but now He would begin to prepare them for the new thing He was about to do, to transform them from a people who would simply survive, to a people who would go forth by His mighty hand to possess and conquer in His name. In the past, they needed a miracle six days a week to survive. Now God would ask them to contend for a miracle six days a week, not for their personal comfort, but to conquer the land. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being a manna people for a while, but if we're going to possess and conquer certain ground, God knows we'll need a change of heart and mind.

Before they could eat of the fruit of the land, God took them on a journey to Gilgal (Joshua 5:2). Gilgal is the doorway to fruitfulness and blessing. It's the place of circumcision. Spiritual circumcision is where God chooses to cut away at any area of our life that impedes the flow of His fruitfulness in us. It involves the circumcision of our heart, which has to do with character, integrity, and trust; circumcision touches our ears, which affects what we will hear and if we will hear; and then the circumcision of our lips, which alters our confession. From the heart come the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23), and from the mouth come life and death itself (Proverbs 18:21). And, oh, the need for unclogged ears that we might clearly hear God's voice (Proverbs 15:31; Zechariah 7:11; James 1:19).

With a hunger to experience a year of fruitfulness, may I suggest that we open up to God's desire to do a new and fresh work in us. May we say together, "Lord, lead me in a new place. Circumcise any part of me that is clogged or closed that new life may begin to flow through me this year."

Desiring His fruitfulness,

Ron