Today's Worship: God brings victory, but only his way!

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Joshua 10:42,

 

"All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel."

 

Here is a simple summary of the campaign Joshua and the Israelites carried out against the southern cities within the land the Lord gave Israel. They were efficiently victorious over their opponents "because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel."

 

Israel fought her opponents because the Lord asked them to. Forty years earlier they had been asked the same thing by him, and having balked they suffered at the Lord's hand for forty years wandering in the wilderness. Now, advancing against their foes in faith, they had the Lord on their side and victory was certain.

 

This brings to mind the certainty of God's promises. What God promises, he will do. He promised the Israelites victory in their taking of the land and that is exactly what happened. The Lord saw to it. Not only are God's promises assured, we can see in these accounts that God has no problem in bringing about what he has promised. As Paul observes Abraham's faith in his letter to the Romans, we see that God has the power to do what he promises! Romans 4:21. And, when God acts, his actions never fail to bring about what he says he will do.

 

Clearly documented in this account, however, is the reality that if success is to be enjoyed, whatever it is that God does will be done his way and not anyone else's way. The account of Achan in Joshua 7 is a sobering reminder that God's agenda must be carried out God's way.

 

All this reminds me of the certainty we have in the resurrection of life. All God's people will be raised in the resurrection to share in eternal life, a life David describes as "eternal pleasures" at the Lord's right hand, Psalm 16:11. It is a promise the Lord has made and he certainly has the power to bring it about. I do note, however, that it will only come about God's way, the way of faith. "I [Jesus Christ] am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6.

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd love to hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com