Take the Land

Today I heard a whisper.
Take the land, brushed against my ear as a feather-stroke.
Take the land.

This week my friend drove out to her new property to walk through it and get an idea of the lay of the land. Now it is bush, grass, and rock. One day it will be a garden, a yard, and there will be a house ~ where her family will visit, play and live. Right now it is a blank canvas; one day it will be a beautiful dwelling place.
Take the land.
She and her husband will take that land and turn it into a home. They will take what is wild and rough, and turn it into useful and beautiful. But it's work. Hard work. And it's a choice. They could let it sit, and wait on it, leaving it empty and unused. They could ignore it and constantly say to each other, "Some day ...". Or they could do the work, prepare the land, build on the land, and see their reward.
It's their choice.

Take the land.
I heard the whisper as I read a scripture:

"Arise and walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you." (Genesis 13:17, NASB)

Take the land.
Could this land mean different things to each of us?
Could the land be the effort made to improve and take back what was ours in God's design?
For example:
To take control of our health? Mental, spiritual, physical ~
Take the land.
To exercise?
Take the land, God says.
To eat well?
Take the land.
To delve into and know His Word?
Take the land.
He gives the land.
But will we take it?
It's a choice to walk into the land He offers to us. To walk into the land, embracing its fullness, accepting its challenges, and moving forward and deeper into the territory. To stand up and make some yes statements. Yes, I believe. Yes, I trust. Yes, this will not defeat me. Yes, I can do this.
Take the land.

"Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it ..." (Deuteronomy 1:8, NLT)

"Take possession of the land and settle in it, because I have given it to you to occupy." (Numbers 33:53, NLT)

Take the land.
Go into that place that seems wild and unattainable. Don't listen to the foreign voices that say you will fail and your house will fall. Make the choice. Make the change. Do the work. Take control back from the enemy. The land God offers is full of milk and honey. He offers what is good. And sometimes it takes courage to accept it. Because sometimes the work is hard. And we find that courage embraces dependence on God.

There will be a day when my friend and her husband will sit on their new front porch, their hands wrapped around mugs of coffee, as they watch the sunset over the trees. They will look at each other, sigh, sit back in their chairs and smile. The work, the sweat, and the challenges will fade as they see what became of their land.

Take the land, He says.

What does your land look like?

Take the land.