Wait For It

“And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.” (Jos 11:6 AV)

Joshua is in the process of cleansing the land of Canaan from those who would hate God.  Before we ruminate, we mustn’t forget Israel offered terms of peace to any nation whom they eventually displaced.  It is a misnomer that Israel went into Canaan and took land that was not their own by force, without mercy or justice.  We mustn’t forget this land was promised by God to Abraham and his descendants, and as far as God was concerned, those dwelling there were squatters.  They had no legal right to Canaan.  Be that as it may, Israel was required to offer terms of peace before they invaded.  Those whom they defeated refused to consider terms of peace, and thus were conquered.  Having said that, what stood out this morning was the stated delay in God’s intervention and the encouragement to Joshua to have faith.  For an entire day, Joshua had to look at a formidable enemy and consider all the possibilities that may occur in battle.  For an entire day, he was encamped against an enemy that could have, without divine intervention, conquer them.  It is hard to look at an impossible challenge and wait for God to give victory.  Many lose faith while waiting for God to move.

I am the kind of person that likes to face most challenges head-on.  Especially if I know there is a battle involved.  If I know I have to overcome, sitting and waiting is not my forte.  I find it hard to sit a wait to take on something larger than myself.  The little battles are what I tend to let slide.  But when faced with an impossibility, my mindset is to go big or go home.  I will climb the mountain and either conquer it or die trying.  The more impossible it might seem, the more I am all in.  In fact, the more it appears I will lose it all, I probably am going to rush right in.  I figure, if I am going to lose the battle, I might as well get it over with.  It’s the defeatism in me that rushes right in and gains the victory.  This served me well when I took a discovery flight, ate a bug taco, or took seven teens over to Ireland during the height of terrorist activity towards air travel.  When faced with such situations, I figure if the plane is going to crash, might as well dive right in and get it over with.  Or, the bug taco?  If I know it’s going to taste awful and make me sick, might as well take a huge bite and get it over with.  And, what of the missions trip?  Just do it!  What is funny is all that caused anxiety ended up not being the case.  We flew the plane without incident.  The pilot even complimented me on being able to fly IFR without ever flying a plane.  The bug taco tasted like sawdust.  And the missions trip was the greatest single experience in my entire years of service to the LORD.

However, staring at that mountain and waiting only increases anxiety.  We want to rip the bandaid off and get it over with.  Joshua had to stare at an enemy that could have torn them to shreds.  He looked at them and they looked at him.  He knew God was on his side and they would fall, but not being able to jump into battle had to be difficult.  It would have been for me.  Sometimes, we have to wait on victory.  God promises it.  It is coming.  In the meantime, we have to look the devil, the world, and ourselves squarely in the face and wait.  We know the end is only a matter of a short lifetime away.  We know victory is assured.  We know that no matter how large the odds are against us, God is greater,  We just want to get the stress and anxiety over with.  We want to jump all in.  Take the blows.  Bandage up the wounds.  And, get up to fight another day.  That is what we want.  But sometimes God requires we wait.  Wait for God to do what God will do and don’t let the mountain intimidate you. Difficult to do, for sure.  But not impossible.  God has this.  He always has.