If you really sit down and read the Old Testament, you should realize something when you get up to the start of the book of Joshua. The children of Israel had a huge task in front of them, one that most in the world would tell them they were not at all equipped to handle. Not only were they about to cross the Jordan River into Canaan to face some mighty foes, but their leader Moses had just died. These were the children of slaves. They had been wandering in a wilderness for decades living off the basics. They were not formally trained in battle. They weren’t a race of giants or of natural warriors. They were nomads. They were workers. Yet they had to go up against kingdoms with fortresses and real weapons. Looking in from the outside, they were doomed.
But they had a secret weapon…
“Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses…No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous…” (Joshua 1:3,5-6)
That’s right. They had God on their side. No matter how big or strong these adversaries seemed (Numbers 13:25-33), they stood no chance in taking on the children of Israel. In fact, the battles were already won, so long as they trusted in God and had faith that He would see them through it. At times they lost that faith, and they suffered because of it (Joshua 7:1-9). However, when they turned their faith back to God and trusted in His provisions, there was no end to what God was capable of doing for them (Joshua 10:12-14).
Today, when we look out at the world, it may be easy for us to get discouraged. America and even the world has a whole seems to be in a spiral of moral decay. We stand here as Christians knowing that we have a battle in front of us that we need to take on. However, the enemy looks huge. How can we fight against so much evil and perversion in the world? How can we fight an enemy that owns the battleground (II Corinthians 4:4)? We aren’t trained in this. They don’t fight fair.
But we have a secret weapon…
“…for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?'” (Hebrews 13:5-6; cf. Psalm 118:6)
Not only do we have an infinitely strong Force on our side, He has actually already won the war for us. The outcome has already been decided (John 16:33). We have no reason to be afraid of the enemy. Is it always going to be easy? No. Are we ever going to take our focus off the goal at the end and focus on the turmoil around us (Matthew 14:30)? I pray we don’t, but we might. However, in the end, we know that our Savior is there for us. We don’t have to fight this battle alone. Just like Gideon, God doesn’t need us to carry the heavy load. He wants us to simply be present, have faith in Him, and watch Him work.
In the wise words of the young lad David as he faced the monstrous Goliath: “For the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hand.” (I Samuel 17:47)