Verse of the day: Joshua 10:10-11 So the LORD routed them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes to Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11 And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, that the LORD cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.
One of the facts about God that we can find great comfort in is the fact that God does not change. Hebrews 13:8 clearly states, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” What that means for us is that when we read about how the LORD fought for His people, Joshua and the Israelites, we can find comfort in knowing that God still fights for His people today, we His children. We live in a fallen world that opposes all that is good and right. Anything that we stand for that is biblical will be challenged, and it will lead to persecution and suffering in our lives. If we are truly living for Christ, we cannot escape it. Jesus promised that in this world we will have tribulation (John 16:33). He plainly told us that if the world hated Him, and persecuted Him, it will do the same to us (John 15:18-25). The Gibeonites, even though they were all mighty men (v. 2), were afraid to engage the Hebrews in battle, not because they feared them, but because they feared God. Their fear came from hearing how God was fighting for Joshua and the Israelites. When we stop and consider Israel’s defeats, they came from those times when they rebelled against God. They experienced defeat when they lacked faith, when they disobeyed God, when they fell into idolatry, and when they failed to go to Him first before making hasty decisions. Does this sound like our lives at times? If we were honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that this is some of us. Yet, when we take the position of getting out of God’s way and letting Him take the rightful place on the throne of our lives, we experience more victories in the everyday battles we face. God gave Israel a great victory against their enemies. Again, we are reminded that God confirmed Joshua’s decision to honor his treaty with the Gibeonites, as He gave him a great victory in defending the Gibeonites in this chapter. Note that even though God gives the Israelites this victory by miraculous means, using hailstones and making the sun and moon stand still (v. 12-13), it was also necessary for Joshua and the Israelites to play their part in the fight. The majority of the time we forget that our greatest battles are spiritual, and that the enemies love to use people, yes…even Christians, as their weapons. They try to influence our thinking, they distract us, and they use other people’s attitudes and circumstances to keep us off balance. When we allow outside influences such as these to affect our faith, joy, and peace, we set ourselves up for defeat. However this does not have to be the case and we do not have to live a life of constant defeat. God has provided us with the spiritual armor we need to stand against the enemy and his trickery (Ephesians 6). This armor is to be worn prayerfully (Ephesian 6:18) and in the Lord’s strength, not our own strength (Ephesians 6:10). We must continually draw near to God so that our enemies, like the Gibeonites, will choose not to engage us. James 4:7-8 tells us, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” The enemy is not afraid of us, but he knows that when we let God fight for us, he stands no chance of winning. Letting God fight for us means that we start our day with prayer, we make the reading and studying God’s Word a priority over being on social media or being hypnotized by mindless junk on television and the internet. We must renew our minds with the Word of God, not the garbage of man (Romans 12:1-2). It means continually trusting God and His promises over what our circumstances show us. We must not allow others to dictate whether or not we have peace and joy, we must give their attitudes, deceptions, and hurtful actions over to God and trust that He will take vengeance on our behalf (Romans 12:9:21). When we forgive (Ephesians 4:32), return good for evil (1 Peter 3:9), love and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44), we give God the room He desires in order to carry out His promises to us. The enemies we fight are far mightier than we are, but we have a God who is even greater! I John 4:4 reminds us, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” God has made many promises in respect to giving us victory over our enemies. I will leave you with these two: 1 Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3, “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.”
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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