There comes a time in every believer’s life when God calls us to confront the things that have kept us bound to our past so we can walk fully into the promises He has prepared for us. In Joshua 5, the children of Israel had crossed over the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land, yet before they could move forward in victory, God instructed Joshua to circumcise the men who had not been circumcised during their wilderness journey.

This act of circumcision was a sign of covenant, consecration, and renewed identity with God. Before Israel could fully possess the land, they had to submit to God’s instructions. Afterward, the Lord declared, “This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you!”

In Joshua 4, God commands Israel to take twelve stones from the Jordan River and set them up as a memorial. These stones were meant to remind future generations of what God had done—how He made a way when there seemed to be no way and faithfully brought His people into the Promised Land.

As believers today, we are called to be living stones—people whose lives testify to the faithfulness, power, and presence of God. Like the stones Joshua commanded Israel to set up, our lives should point others back to what God has done.

Before God builds something through us, He often does a work in us. Israel had to pause, remember the covenant, and prepare themselves for what God was about to do. Likewise, God calls us to lay down the things that no longer define us, renew our identity in Him, and allow Him to shape us into the people He has called us to be!