Total Victory

“And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.” (Jos 10:42 AV)

Five kings and their armies went against Gibeon.  Gibeon was that city-state that deceived Joshua into a treaty.  When the five kings went against Gibeon, Joshua was obligated to defend their neighbors.  The entire Israeli army surrounded their adversaries and God gave them a great victory.  The LORD promised that not one opposing soldier would be able to stand against Joshua.  He also sent a great hail storm that killed more opposing forces than the sword.  On the day of that battle, Joshua defeated the Amorites by the hand of the LORD.  All at once.  A total victory.  These days can be expected.  For these battles, we should pray. What struck me this morning was the complete and dramatic victory that the LORD gave to Israel because He fought for them.  There is no record of casualties on the Jewish side of the conflict.  There may have been, but there is no mention of it.  For a hail storm to kill only the adversary is quite impressive.  Modern weapons have nothing on God.  The best we can do is laser-guided systems that can hit a target from a few miles away.  The hail stones hit their mark while the armies were on the move and mingled with opposition.  For hailstones to his their mark down to the inch is divine intervention.  When God fights for us, then we can expect complete victory.

Most of our trials are protracted.  They don’t always end in a moment.  Our battle with besetting sin doesn’t come to an abrupt end.  It could, but it usually doesn’t.  It all depends on who is doing the majority of the fighting.  Anyone who has played or watched sports understands the importance of the head coach and his staff.  Having been part of a coaching staff, I understood this.  I worked with the head coach of the high school baseball team as a pitching coach and a bit of conditioning thrown in.  Before the season started, the head coach had me work with some of the pitchers to teach them basic mechanical skills.  This translated into helping the entire team learn how to properly throw a ball on target.   We were working in the gym because it was too cold outside.  It was astounding how many players could not consistently throw a baseball the length or breadth of the basketball court into their teammate’s glove.  Several balls disappeared into the stage behind the goal.  It was atrocious.  We had to teach them how to align their bodies and throw a ball straight.  I was completely flabbergasted.  I had never seen teenage boys unable to throw a ball sixty feet so that it was within the reach of another player.  believe it or not, this took an entire week of practice.  When game time arrived, the team succeed or failed based on the players listening to the coaches.  I had several phrases that I yelled out to remind a player of mechanics.  “Snowbank”, “twist”, or “plant” all had meaning to the pitcher or fielder.  As long as they heard my voice and followed instructions, they did well.  It was when they tried to do it all on their own that they failed miserably.

We attempt to win unwinnable battles because we do so in our own might.  God wants to fight for us.  Not with us.  He wants to attack the adversary on our behalf.  Our challenge is to get out of the way and let God do what only God can do.  Like the hailstones.  They were falling from the sky.  The best thing for Joshua and his forces would have been to back off the pursuit and let the LORD nail the opposition with huge hail.  Let God be God.  We get in His way much too often.  Let God be God.  He is standing, waiting for us to surrender the reigns of our battles so that He can do a work that few would believe.  Let God be God.  Let Him send the hailstones.  Let Him put the enemy to flight.  Let Him conquer the enemy.  Let God be God.  He has got this.  He knew from eternity past exactly what our lives would be.  He designed it all.  Nothing takes Him by surprise.  Let God be God and the enemy will not stand a chance.