Battles & Blessings

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. (Joshua 1:1-6)

Are there times in your life when it seems that the world is against you, or that everything just seems to be a struggle? Do you ever ask yourself ‘why doesn’t God help me?’ or ‘where is God when I need him, why isn’t He coming up with the goods?’

Pastor Rick Warren says that he used to think that the Christian life was a succession of battles and blessings, whereas now he thinks of life as being on two tracks. At any given moment in life, there are usually blessings and battles to face.

We see this dynamic from another perspective in the story of the Lord speaking to Joshua on the eve of him entering the land that the Lord had promised to Abraham all those years ago. Sometimes there is another is at work, the dynamic of battling for your blessing. Remember the woman with the issue of blood who had to push through the crowd to receive her healing: She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” (Matt9:21)

God had promised Joshua and the people of Israel that they were about to inherit the land. However, God makes it clear that there will be battles ahead. God did not sweep the enemies away from the land but required Israel to fight for the land knowing that God will give them victory. But why?

Exodus 23:28-30 I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.

We see that sometimes there is a battle to bring about the promised inheritance. As we have entered into a season of prayer and fasting I am becoming more aware of the spiritual battle. We need to remember who the enemy is. The enemy is not our fellow Christian. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph6:12). Any enemy does not hand over their territory easily – there is always a fight. Just like Joshua and the people of Israel had to take the land by fighting for it. We need not underestimate the schemes and power of Satan, but we also need to remind ourselves that Jesus disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Col 2:15) and has the final victory.

In Christ we have a delightful inheritance (Rom 8:16, Gal3:16, Eph1:18, Col1:12-13, Heb9:16). The story of the Promised Land finds its spiritual fulfilment in Jesus. He has made a way for us to be reconciled to God, to enter the rest promised for those who receive him (Heb 3&4). We see the dynamic of the promised inheritance for us in Christ and we also see that walking into your inheritance means being prepared to stand your ground and fight.

When we face our battles we can be confident that there is a blessing available to us who persevere and stand our ground. Therefore, put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Eph6:13-17)

If you are in a battle lift your eyes to heaven, he who promised is faithful! There is a blessing to come for those who endure. As the great hymn states: Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Have a great week.

Blessings

Fraser