Our nation today has become more than ever a spiritual battleground. The forces of darkness come with great boldness to oppose and tear down everything that honors God. The spiritual battle lines are more clearly drawn than perhaps at any time in our history.
With the tide of history seemingly running strongly against righteousness in our national life, it is tempting for Christians to simply throw up our hands and surrender to the belief that we can do nothing. But, God taught Joshua a different lesson. And through Joshua, He teaches us.
Joshua 1:7-9 “Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
The battle is not lost! It is still to be fought and won. And we can win – are supposed to win, even against great odds. But the fight cannot be won by spiritual wimps. Only the “strong and very courageous” will prevail in the spiritual conflict in which we are now engaged. Each of us must choose whether we will go out to battle.
I am a Joshua. God is with me, and the land is mine. I must be strong and very courageous; I must be careful to be obedient to all God has commanded; I must meditate the Word day and night, and speak it out of my mouth; and finally, I must not be afraid or dismayed at the circumstances and opposition that arise. I am called as Joshua was called. I didn’t volunteer – God called me! I must not be hesitant or vacillating in doing what God has called me to do.
Therefore, I confess: I am strong and very courageous in Christ. Because I am faithful to meditate in the Word and am obedient to it, I am making my way prosperous, and I will have good success!
Joshua 1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.
Donald K. Campbell says in Joshua: Leader Under Fire, “Although the land was God’s gift to Israel, it would only be won by hard fighting. The Lord gave them title to the territory, but they could possess it only by marching on every part.”
The place in which God has placed us is our land. We are to possess it spiritually for Him. But, like Joshua, we will only possess it by marching over it and fighting for it. So, we’ve got to go out and set our feet on the land God has given us; go outside the walls of the church and into the land, proclaiming the gospel of Christ.
The enemies of God seem to be getting stronger and stronger in our nation today. They have truly become giants in the land. What God has named an abomination is proclaimed in the White House, in Congress, in the Supreme Court, and in many pulpits, as righteousness. The tide of public opinion seems to be toward ignoring what God says in favor of what seems right in our own eyes. Yet God’s people are promised that whenever we go out into the land to fight the darkness in the name of Christ, we need never be afraid or dismayed, for the Lord our God is with us.
Be strong and of good courage, for the LORD your God is with us wherever we go; and by Him, we will prevail!
Ron Franklin
