Oh! Jesus is amazing!
Is anyone familiar with Joshua? The Joshua of the bible? If you are not familiar with this man, there is an entire book about him in the bible named: Joshua. Haha.
Anyways, he was Moses' apprentice so to speak. And after Moses passed away, Joshua took over leadership of Israel and lead them to many victories against their enemy in a foreign land. Keep in mind, his victories were not won on his own, but won by the hand of God.
God was with Joshua.
This made Joshua a winner! Victorious!
And I want to talk about how you and I can have the same victory.
In Joshua, chapter 11, the bible speaks about Israel fighting against a HUGE army.
"When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Acshaph, and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the arabah south of Kinnereth, in the westeren foothills and in Naphoth Dor on the west, to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorities, Hittities, Perizzites and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites below Hermon in the region of Mizpah. They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots-- a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom, to fight against Israel."
Joshua 11:1-5
Now, let's think about this for a moment. King Jabin, sent word to many kings in the Northern region. Back then, they didn't have email, or a postal system. They didn't have phones or telegrams. They had horses, and messengers. Can you imagine how long this took to gather all of these men together? To come to an agreement concerning their alliances and provisions. I'm sure they discussed a campaign and strategy on how to eliminate the Israelites. These kings did not just blindly come together to fight. No. A smart king, is going to come up with a plan to win every battle. Right?
So I can only assume that throughout their meetings and traveling back and forth in between kingdoms, their plot to destroy Israel took some work, and some time. Apparently, Jabin had enough influence to talk these Kings into rallying their forces and joining him in this fight.
The kings of the Northern region must have felt powerful. They knew they were numerous and their number alone, should have promised victory. But they failed to realize who they were fighting against. They weren't fighting against Israel alone. They were fighting against God.
And ya know what?
God ALWAYS wins!!
I am reminded of life in general. I'm sure many of you have encountered people in your life who work together against you. It's the same scenario. The enemy will rally it's forces to bring you down. And the enemy does not work in small numbers, not all the time. Sometimes you face something or someone so huge, and so large, you doubt if you'll make it. But this story of Joshua is a reminder for those who are in Christ. For those who believe in Jesus, we have hope and a God is STRONG! Do you understand what I'm saying? GOD IS REALLY STRONG! He can boss haul anyone!
Were the Israelites afraid? I'm sure they were. They were facing a nasty battle that threatened to kill them all. And yet God told Joshua:
"Do not be afraid of them because by this time tomorrow, I will hand all of them over to Israel, slain." Joshua 11:6
God is saying, I know what you're going through. I know how big the battle may seem to you. I know that you are afraid of what might happen, but I am going to handle this. I am going to deliver you. I am going to protect. I am going to make you victorious against your enemies! Don't worry about what you may see in front you. The battle is already won, because I AM will deliver you.
He told Moses, His name was "I am" for a reason! God IS everything that you and I need.
There is power in the name of Jesus!! There is power in knowing that God is FOR you, not against you! But you cannot tap into this power if you don't believe in Him.
Do you believe in Jesus? Do you trust in Him? Do you obey the Lord?
The Israelites did. And they won the battle against the Northern Kings.
See, you can't win if you refuse to obey God. Jesus says, if you love him, you would obey his commands. Obedience to the Lord is righteousness. The Israelites would not have won if they refused to obey the Lord and follow His commands.
But in this case, they were victorious through Him.
God gave them rest soon after this battle.
The Lord does not change. No matter how big your enemy may be, remember God wins....no matter what. He will give you victory just like He gave the Israelites victory.
Trust and believe in Him. Call on Him and praise our God!
There is no one like Him.
I bless each of you, in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Mary W.
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