Text: Joshua 5:1-12
Memory text:
“Then the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

When a house is being renovated, the first sound you hear is demolition. Walls come down before beauty goes up. Likewise, God removes the old before He causes you to enter the new. Some things must die in the wilderness before you enter Canaan. So, God is not destroying you but only preparing you.
He knew that the new land of Canaan required a new mindset, not like Egypt’s mindset. He needed to purge Israel of the old in the wilderness to be able to survive in Canaan. What survived in Egypt cannot survive in Canaan. In fact, Canaan rejects what Egypt produced. Thus, the wilderness was not Israel’s destination but God’s burial ground for slave mentality.
Remember that old generation, including the men of war who came out of Egypt and were circumcised there, had died in the wilderness. Before God gives you a new land, He removes the old man. Death is the doorway, not the end (John 12:24). Some things don’t move forward; they must die. They must die in the wilderness, or they will kill you in Canaan. He removes what will hinder what He wants to give. He removes before He replaces. God uses long routes and wilderness experiences to separate us from old habits, old fears, old relationships, or old circles.
After Israel had crossed Jordan and had entered Canaan, the new location, yet God stopped the military advancement immediately at Gilgal after crossing. There He restored the covenant of circumcision in order to address their identity. This He did first before discussing the battle strategy. The circumcision meant that the covenant of Abraham belongs to them, that they were separated from Egypt, and they were ready for the inheritance (Gen 17:10-11). No one fights covenant battles without covenant identity. Gilgal wasn’t just a location but a shift in self-perception from slaves to sons. You don’t fight covenant battles without covenant marks. Slaves can’t conquer cities because identity determines authority (Rom 8:15; Col 2:11). Only people secured in identity can obey strange instructions, like that of Jericho. God ensures that you know who you are before you face a battle. Jericho didn’t need a sword first but a son.
Friends, is ‘Egypt’ still alive in you? What habit no longer fits where God is taking you? What is your self-perception? Are you fighting as a slave or a son? Let God remove the old label now.

Prayer points
1. Father, separate from me every old habit, old relationships, old fears, and old circles that don’t align with where You are taking me to, in Jesus’ name.
2. Father, cut away every slave mindset that weakens my authority; build capacity in me for the battles ahead, in Jesus’ name.

Today’s declarations
1. I refuse to fight as a slave when I have been called a son; and I receive courage rooted in covenant, not confidence in self.
2. Every reproach of the past is rolled away, the old has been cut off, and the new has begun. My capacity matches my calling.