September 19, 2009

Call To Arms

So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. The Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."

. . .

As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

-Joshua 10:7-8, 11


The Bible might look innocent sitting on my kitchen table, but it tends to be a little more action-packed than I give it credit.

To me, this scene is like something out of Transformers or X-men . . . can you see Israel in an all-night march to ambush their enemy? Can you see Joshua's face as he leads them into battle, putting all his efforts into trusting his Lord, unsuspecting of what's coming next?

I bet Joshua thought it was all up to him and his army to win the fight.

If I was in Joshua's shoes, my eyes would have lit up with the hailstones. I would have stopped dead in my tracks - in shock, surprise and awe. What an awesome reminder that God is fighting for us . . . and that it's ultimately God's war, not ours. Did you see in vs. 11 that more of the enemy died as a result of God's hand than Israel's?

God calls us into action and enables us to do so . . . but sometimes we think that it's all up to us. That we have to pull ourselves through the week, our struggles, burdens . . . . that we are fighting alone, trudging though this mess that we call life.

But you know what? Sometimes we need to see hailstones. Sometimes we need a reminder that the creator of the universe is calling the shots, that He cares more about us than we realize, and that He is fighting for us.

What areas of your life do you need to see God's hand in? Where do you need to see hailstones? Are we limiting His power by believing that we're in this alone, and trying to fight by ourselves?

[Disclaimer: I have no original thoughts . . . J.D. preached an awesome sermon on this a few months ago - you should check it out.]

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