Consecrate

I got one word this morning while I was waiting on the Lord: consecrate.

It sent me straight to Joshua 3:5. "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you." I looked up the word itself, and I looked at that verse across a few translations. One says consecrate, which means set apart, made holy. Another says sanctify yourselves. Another says purify yourselves. Different words, same center: this isn't a feeling, it's a position you take.

It reminded me of two more verses right away. Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). And Matthew 6:33, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

Consecrating yourself is about setting yourself apart for the Lord. Not just the things I want to do, or feel like I should do, but what direction God is leading me in, and what God is actually saying to me, today. There's a general sense in which you can know the will of God, principle by principle, straight from what's written. But living led by the Spirit is a different thing entirely - not contrary, but built upon the principles taught in the Bible. 

In the lens of consecration, I think this is the same heart behind the Nazarite vow. Some were Nazarites from birth, set apart their whole life. Others took the vow for a season, a period of consecration they stepped into. Either way, the word means more than a simple transaction. It's not a moment, it's a position you're supposed to stay in.

This connects straight back to the verse on the King of Kings shirt. Isaiah 9:7. "The increase of his government and peace there will be no end." There's a bigger purpose here, and it's God's purpose, not mine.

Consecration isn't just understanding the concept. It's not just the practical way to walk it out either. It's the daily practice of following God, waiting on God, dwelling with God. Psalm 91 - Isaiah 43:1 - and these other verses, all of it is connected, and all of it speaks to a life that is consecrated.

David was called a man after God's own heart, and that's because he was consecrated. Not perfect. Consecrated.

So this is what I keep landing on: consecration isn't a transaction, it's a dwelling place. It's an encounter into something you're meant to stay in. You can leave it, but you're not supposed to. And the real measure isn't whether you understood the concept once. It's the degree to which you're actually walking in it, aware of what God is doing, not just around you, but in you and through you, and aware of your part to play in that.

Set apart. For purpose on purpose.

This is gear for the LOVED & SENT™.

For His glory,
Nick
Founder, Great Works Clothing
John 14:12