Your Influences

From the beginning, God promised the best for His people. He wanted them to enjoy the fullness of His creation. To be healthy and enjoy prosperity. He wanted to meet every need. At the same time, He knew the many ways they might not receive all He intended for them.

There were many ways they could be distracted or deceived by imitating the lifestyles and beliefs of the people in the land. To think like they thought. And in the process, they could forget about God and His Word.

This is why God told them that they needed to “drive out the inhabitants.” How these inhabitants could be “pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides.” They would harass them wherever they went.

In the same way, there are things in our lives that can be thorns in our side, that can block the flow of God’s blessings for us. We too can find ourselves thinking like the world, giving in to temptations, and forming bad habits. Unless we deal with these things, they can continue to irritate and plague us, and keep us from achieving victory.

Today, ask God to help you evaluate your life. What are you allowing to influence you and shape your thinking, your standards, and your values?

Remember that you have choices to make about what you allow into your mind, what you see with your eyes, the people you associate with, and what you do with your time. Remove anything that might prevent you from receiving God’s blessings, and living in victory. Focus on serving Him!