Reading Joshua, I could feel something mighty building. Jabin sending out word to area rulers to prepare for battle. Hazor, Madon, Shimron, Acshaph–and so many other cities, with troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore–didn’t their victory seem inevitable? Israel, outnumbered. But the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel, slain. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.” Joshua 11:6. And it was so.
The Lord can prepare us for anything. And men put their very lives at stake to trust in him.
Praise be to the LORD my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me. Psalm 144:1-2
The Lord–who made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross; where waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it–he trains, loves, delivers and shields. Do I trust?
Stubborn and rebellious hearts, in Jeremiah, they turned aside and went away. They stopped fearing the Lord and what he could do. He gives autumn and spring rains in season; he assures the regular weeks of harvest. He nurtures. He provides. Do I trust?
The rich, young man in Matthew asks the Lord, “What can I do? What do I lack?” He couldn’t part with his wealth–he valued it more than his life. He seemed so eager, so righteous–to walk away saddened. Where did he put his trust?
And where do I put mine? Circumstance, provision, ability?
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26
In battle or storm, in season or harvest, in desire or deed … Lord, I pray that I will always look to you and trust.
Courtney (66books365)
Sixty-six books in a year 