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What We See—What God Sees

When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!

SUMMARY: When God is with a person, then even the weakest, most reluctant, and least qualified is a mighty man or woman of valor. It is not a person’s gifts, talents, skills, temperament, and popularity that tip the scales as to whether they will be successful or not, though these personal qualities are not unimportant/ It is God’s presence that determines the outcome of success in their life. If God is for us, who can be against us!

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Judges 6:11-14

The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. Gideon replied, “Pardon me, but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us. Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hands of Midian. The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?

When will we ever learn that God doesn’t see things the way we do when he chooses people for his service? No one would have looked at a barren married couple in their nineties as logical candidates to be the parents of many nations. God saw something in Abram and Sarai that we couldn’t see. No one would have looked at the stuttering fugitive, wanted for murder, now on the lam in the Sinai wilderness, as Israel’s deliverer. But God saw something in Moses that we couldn’t see. No one would have looked at a young, ruddy shepherd boy, the runt among his strapping brothers, and predicted that he would be a giant slayer, a mighty king, and a man after God’s own heart. But God saw something in David that we couldn’t see.

Long before we see potential in a person, God does.

Such was the case with Gideon in Judges 6. When God found this man who would become one of the greatest judges in Israel’s history, he was hiding in fear in a winepress (Judges 6:11), blaming God for Israel’s subjugation at the hand of Midian when it was clearly Israel’s fault (Judges 6:13), and mired in the quicksand poor self-esteem, arguing with God as to why he was the wrong choice to deliver Israel (Judges 6:15).

Not a great job interview! Yet God saw past Gideon’s obvious weaknesses and addressed him, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!” You see, when God is with you—and that is key—then even the weakest, most reluctant, least qualified, is a mighty man or woman of valor. It is not our gifts, talents, skills, temperament, or résumé of past success that tip the scales on whether we will be successful, though these personal qualities are not unimportant. It is God’s presence that determines the outcome of success in our lives. If God is for us, who can be against us!

When God calls us, our résumés change before we accomplish one single thing. We immediately achieve conqueror status—in advance. When God is with us, then we can simply go in the strength we have (Judges 6:14) and do what the Almighty has foreordained. To go in our strength is to simply put our gifts, talents, skills, and temperament on the line for God, then let God do the rest. We might see ourselves, or others, as Gideon saw himself: The least qualified in the least qualified family. God sees that too—more than we do. But God also sees something else. He sees that he will be with us, and he sees that he will go before us, and he sees that he has already accomplished what he has predetermined.

That is why God chose Abram and Sarai, Moses, David—and all the other heroes that occupy the Great Hall of Faith of Hebrews 11; none of which we would have chosen. But God chose them, and that sealed the deal; that guaranteed their success; that put them into the realm of mighty men and women of valor long before they or anyone saw them in that grand light.

Do you ever wonder how God views you? Wonder no longer! He sees not what you aren’t, but what you are: A person he has chosen and blessed with his presence to do great and impossible things for him. So go with what you’ve got. The Lord is with you!

Choose You This Day: The human philosophy believes in calling the qualified when looking for someone to fill a key leadership role or critical position in an organization. But as it has been said, “God qualifies the called.” The Bible is filled with examples of how the most unlikely become mighty instruments in the Lord’s hand. Knowledge, skill, and personality are not unimportant, but most important is what God sees in you or in another unlikely person in your world.

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We Have One Job and One Job Only: Make Jesus Famous

When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!

SUMMARY: Never in the history of Christianity have we had so many famous pastors—and those wanting to become famous—as we do now. But the biblically approved spiritual leader, the one with whom God is pleased, has one job and one job only: to make Jesus famous! And if Jesus wants to make the leader famous, well, that is Jesus’ business.

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Joshua 6:27

So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.

As media technologies continue to increase, so has the universal rise of celebrity preachers. Never in the history of Christianity have we had so many famous pastors—and those wanting to become famous—as we do now. If you’re a spiritual leader and you aren’t hawking all the books you have authored, beaming your mug to adoring congregants to a multi-site campus, tweeting to your six-figure social media followers, and getting quoted by the media on the issue du jour, you ain’t all that much.

Of course, technology now allows us to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world in unprecedented ways—and that is a great thing. But inherent in this ability to communicate to the masses is the danger of showcasing ourselves rather than showcasing Jesus. The god of fame lurks; the seduction of celebrity has never been stronger in the Christian world than it is right now—and that’s not a great thing!

The true spiritual leader, the one with whom God is well pleased, has one job and one job only: to make Jesus famous! And if Jesus wants to make the leader famous, well, that is Jesus’ business. Unlike far too many of today’s Christian celebrities, Joshua was a leader whom God decided to make famous. Joshua 2:7 and 4:14 says,

The Lord told Joshua, ‘Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses.’ …That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.

And, of course, our featured verse today says, “God was with Joshua. He became famous all over the land.” (The Message) How refreshing! In today’s culture of celebrity, where leaders do whatever they can to make themselves famous, here was a guy who didn’t have to. God did it for him. And there is no better PR firm than the Holy Trinity!

What makes a leader great and opens the door to his or her fame? Some would say charisma is the key. Others might say it’s a combination of skill, intellect, and the ability to inspire others to accomplish a compelling mission. Then there are those who would argue that not only are charisma and persuasion necessary, but it’s also a matter of being the right person in the right place and the right time.

I wouldn’t argue with any of those ideas. But above all else, I would argue that what makes a leader a great and fame-worthy leader is simply God’s touch upon his or her life. Where God makes a man or woman great in the eyes of the people, there you have the makings of a leader who is one for the ages. Joshua was just such a leader.

In Joshua, you find true success! Not that he leveraged his considerable talents, sharp intellect, political capital, magnanimous personality, and a stellar resume of past achievements of leading the Israelites to victory, but it was that God made him great in the eyes of the people. Never did Joshua take any credit for himself in the victories and miracles that God performed. As Moses had been a humble leader, so, too, was Joshua. Like his predecessor, he was a true servant of God and of the Israelites. He served at God’s pleasure and recognized that his success came only by God’s power and grace. And it was God who made Joshua great before all Israel.

That’s the kind of leader I want to be. I want to be a great leader because of God’s touch on my life; because of the work that he does in, for, and through me. If there is anything that makes me worth following, may it be because of what God has done. What I do through my own gifts, personality, and personal determination will, at best, quickly fade. But what God does through me will last for all eternity, and best of all, bring all the glory to the God who has equipped me to lead.

What about you? Do you desire to be a leader—a person of influence in your home, school, business, or some other arena? You might feel unqualified and unworthy. Part of you may want to let someone else to lead; someone more qualified, smarter, holier, better than you. But it could be that God has placed in you the kinds of gifts, talents, brainpower, and favor that he wants to use in leading people to extend his Kingdom in this world.

If God is calling you to leadership, submit your life to him. Then, if he chooses, let God make you great in the eyes of those you would lead.

However, if you are already a leader who has the adoration of the masses, do whatever you can to deflect the glory back to the God who deserves the glory alone. Whatever glory you give to God through your life and ministry, the more bless-able you will be—right now and throughout all eternity.

Choose You This Day: When you evaluate the spiritual leader whom God has placed over your life, make sure this is the chief indicator of their greatness: Their consuming passion is to make Jesus famous. If it isn’t, seriously pray for that leader. If so, thank God for them and do everything you can to affirm their leadership.

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There Is No “Switzerland” in Spiritual Warfare

When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!

SUMMARY: The realm of spiritual warfare where the Christian resides is no theological “Switzerland.” Moral issues demand that we take a stand as Kingdom ambassadors. We cannot keep our distance from this conflict; we cannot stay neutral in it. We must engage, even when the odds are overwhelming. To step forward in faith into the fray is to be on the right side of history — what we can rightly call “His story” — and time will prove it.

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Judges 5:15-18, 24-25

The princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yes, Issachar was with Barak, sent under his command into the valley. In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart. Why did you stay among the sheep pens to hear the whistling for the flocks? In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart. Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan. And Dan, why did he linger by the ships? Asher remained on the coast and stayed in his coves. The people of Zebulun risked their very lives; so did Naphtali on the terraced fields….Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women.

In Judges 5, the prophetess Deborah composed a tune to commemorate the Israelites’ victory, led by General Barak, over the Canaanites and their leader, General Sisera. The memorable and brutal battle described in Judges 4 ended with the gruesome death of Sisera. Deborah used the occasion to memorialize the details of Israel’s victory in this song—a song she not only composed but also sang for all to hear.

The tune, however, was not just a celebration; it was a diatribe as well. Not only did she celebrate the brave hearts of several of Israel’s tribes, Issachar, Ephraim, Benjamin, and Zebulun, along with the courageous lady named Jael, who assassinated Sisera, but she also castigates the indecision of other tribes, Reuben, Dan, and Asher. These latter tribes apparently sat out the conflict because it didn’t directly concern them.

Rueben was conflicted about joining the fight, apparently not so sure there would be a good outcome, given how badly Israel was outmanned and outgunned: “In Reuben there was much searching of heart.” (Judges 5:15-16). The others, the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Zebulun, were either sitting in the safety of being far from the conflict or too busy with their own concerns to jump into the fray.

Despite the lack of participation from these four tribes, Israel conquered the Canaanites. It was an amazing victory for Israel when General Barak put the larger, better-equipped army led by General Sisera to flight. But when the time came for courage, for the reasons mentioned above, the four stayed home. In so doing, they earned the ire of this steely prophetess, Deborah. She interpreted their reluctance as disloyalty to the nation, which was tantamount to a lack of faith, disobedience, and disloyalty to God. So, she called them out publicly for seeing themselves as separate entities rather than as a part of the nation, a problem Moses had previously warned about, and a problem that became reality in future chapters throughout Judges.

 

So, what does this story have to do with you? Simply this: there is always conflict in the believer’s life. At times, the conflict is in the unseen realm, while at other times it spills over into the real world in your personal, family, social, professional, and church life. In the raging battle, there is always a right and wrong side, a side that represents good and one that represents evil. And wherever conflict invades your world, there are always three positions you can take—one right, two wrong.

The two wrong sides are like what we see immortalized in Deborah’s song. One side, represented by Reuben, is to stay neutral in the fray when the choice is clear. The Rueben mentality is conflicted, not sure what to do, worried about the cost, wanting to play it safe, but not feeling so good about sitting it out. But safe it is not, it is wrong, for in the fight of faith, there is no neutral spiritual Switzerland. Moral issues demand that we take a stand.

The second wrong side takes a definite stance to sit it out. The sit-it-out crowd is too busy, too far removed (they don’t have a dog in this fight, or so they think), and to jump into the fray would take too much effort for too little reward. But in the fight of faith, where the choice is clear, staying off the field will only get you into history books for the wrong reason. Spiritual infamy is not what you want when you are needed in the conquest.

There is only one right side, and that is to step forward in faith to fight for right. When sin threatens, encroaches, or seeks to enslave, even when it seems the odds are against you or against those who need your help, Deborah’s eternal call is to jump into the fray. Her words to Barak are the Word of the Lord to you:

This is the day the Lord has given your enemy into your hands—for the Lord is marching ahead of you. (Judges 4:14)

Where is the battle of faith calling you to take a stand today? If there is an identifiable conflict, jump into the fray. God is already there, and you are not only guaranteed a win but also an eternal song to commemorate your conquest.

Choose You This Day: Picture your greatest challenge. Once you have that in view, picture God already there waiting for you. Now get out there; go take a victory lap in a victory that God has won for you.

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The One Thing You Will Never Regret

When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!

SUMMARY: Whenever you step forward in faith, God will do the rest: rivers will part, dry land will appear, walls will fall, enemies will flee, the sun will stand still, and the Land of Promise will become your Land of Possession. You will never regret putting your trust in the Lord.

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Joshua 5:1

Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.

Contrast this story with the one we read in Numbers 13-14 about the 12 spies returning from surveying Canaan. Ten of those spies came back from reconnoitering the Promised Land and gave a very pessimistic report to Moses and the Israelites. And when God’s people heard it, they lost heart and became paralyzed with fear.

But the ten spies said, “We can’t attack those people; they’re way stronger than we are.” They spread scary rumors among the people of Israel. They said, “We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it’s a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers.” The whole community was in an uproar, wailing all night long. All the People of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The entire community was in on it: “Why didn’t we die in Egypt? Or in this wilderness? Why has God brought us to this country to kill us? Our wives and children are about to become plunder. Why don’t we just head back to Egypt? And right now!” Soon they were all saying it to one another: “Let’s pick a new leader; let’s head back to Egypt.” (Numbers 13:31-14:4, MSG)

What a lost opportunity! If only they had remained faithful to God and confident in his call, the same story that the Israelites experienced in Joshua 5 would have become theirs. That same race of giants, the Nephilim, that made the Israelites feel like grasshoppers, were now the ones who were feeling small, as we read in our current story:

Their hearts sank; the courage drained out of them just thinking about the people of Israel. (Joshua 5:1, MSG)

Joshua 5 could have occurred forty years earlier, and the people Moses led out of Egypt would have entered their Promised Land. Instead, they forfeited the promises of God for death in the wilderness because of fear and disobedience. Untold numbers of people died over four decades, with the most disheartening words in the library of human language on their lips: “If only.” What might have been had they just trusted the God who had led them?

 

Fortunately, the next generation learned a very difficult but important lesson at their parents’ expense. They witnessed the unbelief of their fathers and mothers and the harsh consequences of shrinking back in fear, and determined that, while there might be other sins, unbelief would not be one of theirs. They stepped forward in faith, and behold, God did the rest: rivers parted, dry land appeared, walls fell, enemies fled, the sun stood still, and the Land of Promise became the Land of Possession.

No one has ever regretted trusting God. Obedience to the call of the Lord has never left a person disappointed. God has never abandoned anyone who followed his command. Not a single person who stepped out to put God’s promises to the test has ever died whispering, “What might have been if I had just NOT trusted God so much.” As the prophet said in Jeremiah 17:7-8,

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”

Trust God completely, and you will live a satisfying life of no regrets!

Choose You This Day: Trust God! Whatever is before you today, walk into it with confidence. If you are obeying God, he is not only with you, but also before you.

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If You Knew You Couldn’t Fail

When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!

SUMMARY: What would you attempt for God if you knew that he was already where your steps of faith would lead you? How energetically would you press forward if you knew he was waiting there for you to arrive? What level of confidence would you have knowing that God had gone ahead of you and secured your victory even before the battle began? The truth is, when God calls you to step out, he has not only promised to be with you, but he has also promised to go before you. And while you may not see around the bend of faith, God is already there with your victory in hand.

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Judges 4:14-15

Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get ready! This is the day the Lord will give you victory over Sisera, for the Lord is marching ahead of you.” So Barak led his 10,000 warriors down the slopes of Mount Tabor into battle. When Barak attacked, the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and warriors into a panic.

What would you attempt for God if you knew the Lord was marching ahead of you? What grand thing would you pursue if you knew that he was already where your steps of faith would lead you, waiting for you to arrive? What level of confidence would you have knowing that God had gone ahead of you and secured your victory even before the battle began?

When God calls you to a step of faith, you are guaranteed his presence and his power, which means that you are invincible in the journey. Moreover, he has not only promised to be with you, but he has also promised to go before you, and while you may not see around the bend of faith, God is already there, waiting for you to take the victory lap for a success that he achieved for you. How cool is that!

 

That is exactly what the prophetess Deborah is telling the reluctant general of the Israelite army, Barak. He is shivering in his boots, knowing that his army is outmanned and outgunned by the Canaanite army of General Sisera. We are told in Judges 4:3, “Sisera, who had 900 iron chariots, ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years.” 900 iron chariots to Israel’s none…no wonder, on a human level, Barak was not too excited about leading Israel into battle.

But this battle would not be fought only on a human level. No battle is. In the spiritual realm, God had already heard the cries of the Israelites and had determined to deliver them from their oppressors under the guidance of Deborah the Judge and Barak the General. Considering that, the fight was over before it even started. Barak couldn’t see that, but Deborah could. That is why she told him, “Now get out there and fight, for God is already ahead of you and has guaranteed the victory. C’mon, go take your victory lap.” And that is exactly what Barak did, and a great deliverance for Israel was accomplished.

Perhaps you are a little uncertain about what’s next for you. Maybe you’re not too confident about your future. Maybe the circumstances you face are overwhelming, from a human perspective. You are outnumbered and outgunned. But where God is asking you to step out in faith, those odds do not matter one iota. God is on your side; he is not only with you, but also before you. He is already where he has called you to go, waiting for you to walk into a victory that he has secured for you. That means you cannot lose. So, take heart!

Therefore, because of God’s exemplary record of faithful goodness in leading his people to victory, do not be afraid to trust an unknown tomorrow to a known God. Get ready! This is the day God will give you victory, for he is marching ahead of you. That is God’s promise to you!

In a verse similar to this one, King David said to his son Solomon as he gave him the daunting task of building a temple in Jerusalem to the God of Israel,

Be strong and courageous and get to work. Don’t be frightened by the size of the task, for the Lord God is with you; he will not forsake you. He will see to it that everything is finished correctly. (1 Chronicles 28:20, LB)

Whatever is before you, if God is calling you to step out, then do it with confidence; God is already out there where you have been called to go. And he has guaranteed victory if you go with him!

Choose You This Day: Picture your greatest challenge. Once you have that in view, picture God already there waiting for you. Now get out there; go take a victory lap in a victory that God has won for you.

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The Making of a Great Leader

When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!

SUMMARY: What makes a leader great? Some would say charisma is the key. Others might say it’s a combination of skill, intellect, and the ability to inspire people to accomplish a mission. Then some argue that not only are charisma and persuasion necessary, but it’s also a matter of being the right person in the right place at the right time. I wouldn’t argue with any of those ideas. But foremost, I would say that what makes a leader a great leader is no less than God’s touch upon his or her life.

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Joshua 4:14

That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.

What makes a leader great? Some would say charisma is the key. Others might say it’s a combination of skill, intellect, and the ability to inspire others to accomplish the mission. Then there are those who would argue that not only are charisma and persuasion necessary, but it’s a matter of also being the right person in the right place and the right time.

I wouldn’t argue with any of those ideas. But foremost, I would argue that what makes a leader a great leader is no less than God’s touch upon his or her life. Or at least that’s what should be the defining factor in great leadership. Where God makes a man or woman great in the eyes of the people, there you have the makings of a leader who is one for the ages. Joshua was just such a leader.

In Joshua, you find true success! Not that he leveraged his considerable talents, sharp intellect, political capital, past successes, and magnanimous personality to lead the people to victory, but that God made him great in the eyes of the people. Never did Joshua take any credit for himself in the victories and miracles that God performed. As Moses had been a humble leader, so, too, was Joshua. Like his predecessor, he was a true servant of God and priestly guide of the Israelites. He served at God’s pleasure and recognized that his success came only by God’s power and grace. And God made Joshua great before all Israel.

Notice the backstory to the verse I selected for today’s reading; here is Joshua 2:7 in combination with Joshua 4:14:

The Lord told Joshua, ‘Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses” …. That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.

That’s the kind of leader I want to be. I want to be a great leader because of God’s touch on my life; because of the work that he does in, for, and through me. If there is anything that makes me worth following, may it be because of what God has done. What I do through my own gifts, personality, and personal determination will, at best, quickly fade. But what God does through me will last for all eternity, and best of all, bring all the glory to the God who has equipped me to lead.

What about you? Do you desire to be a leader? You might feel unqualified and unworthy. Part of you may want to let someone else lead; someone more qualified, more intelligent, holier, and better than you. But it could be that God has placed in you the kinds of gifts, talents, brainpower, and favor that he wants to use in leading people to extend his Kingdom in this world.

If God is calling you to leadership, submit your life to him. Then let God make you great in the eyes of those you would lead.

Choose You This Day: When you think of the advancement of God’s kingdom over the millennia, it is amazing how many times this saying has been true of its leaders: “God didn’t call the qualified, He qualified the called.” Maybe he wants to qualify you! He still looks for a few good men…and women! So, have a conversation with him today about that.

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Battle Ready: Why God Doesn’t Remove Enemies of the Soul

When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!

SUMMARY: Wouldn’t it make your life simpler and easier if God just stepped in and vaporized your every spiritual enemy? Why doesn’t He?
Among other reasons known only to God, one important reason is that He is testing you, and he is teaching you so that He might increase your trust in Him. He allows you to be in strenuous situations to test and temper your faith, and through those moments, He forces you to learn the art of spiritual warfare. You see, the battle you are in is not flesh and blood; it is from the unseen realm, and it masquerades as people and circumstances in the seen world. And your most effective weapons in every battle are your ruthless trust in God and unquestionable obedience to His commands. So, if you’re in a battle right now, take heart. You will be victorious … if you trust and obey. Furthermore, God is doing you a favor by getting you ready for greater things!

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Judges 3:1-2,4

These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience)….These enemy nations were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.

Do you ever wish God would just annihilate sin in your life? Wouldn’t it be nice if he removed everything that troubles your soul? How wonderful it would be if the Christian’s voyage from salvation to eternity were nothing but smooth sailing!

 

Yes, that would be nice. But God doesn’t work that way. He could have given Abraham and Sarah, whom he called the parents of many nations, an heir long before they were in their nineties and well past the years of bearing a son. He didn’t have to leave Joseph languishing in a prison cell for 15 years, training him to be a faithful leader in small matters and under great duress, when a weekend stay would have sufficed. The Lord didn’t have to teach Moses how to shepherd Israel over a forty-year illustrious career by first burying him in ignominy and isolation during a forty-year stint as a goat herder on the backside of the Sinai desert. And God didn’t have to take the Israelites on a forty-year meandering journey through that same desert when two years would have gotten them from Egypt to Canaan and more than sufficed to mold them into a nation.

 

The thing is, God takes his time in preparing his people. He does it apart from our sense of time because God is God. And God knows more than we do. And God can do what he wants. And God knows that it takes us a long time to learn. So, he uses the sharpest edge tool, discomfort, to test us and to train us for glorious purposes.

 

 

 

After Joshua died and the Israelites settled in Canaan, there were still more than a few enemy nations in the land. Moses had commanded that Israel wipe them out because they would ultimately lead God’s people astray by enticing them to tolerate, then accept, then actually worship their gods. Israel had failed to remove these nations, and sure enough, Israel began to intermarry with some of them and live alongside others as if it were no big deal. But it was a big deal indeed, because what Moses predicted was exactly what happened: Israel began to embrace the unspeakable pagan practices of these Canaanite nations. So God punished them.

 

Punishment came in the form of subjugation—the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites defeated Israel and put onerous demands and taxation upon them. Finally, in desperation, Israel cried out to God, who in turn raised up judges to deliver his people. This is the story of Judges: Judge after judge is raised up to lead Israel into repentance, unite and inspire them, then lead them into battle and throw off the oppressive yoke of their masters. This vicious cycle of subjugation, desperation, repentance, and deliverance took place over a period of 400 years.

 

But there was something else going on during this time. God was testing the loyalty of his people by leaving these pagan nations that Israel had failed to remove; he wanted to show them how easy and quickly they would surrender to the enticement of the false gods, which they did! And he not only tested them, but he had to teach them how to battle their way back to holiness and freedom by throwing off the yoke of their oppressors. They had to suffer the consequences of the pain that always followed enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season; they had to relearn the power of holiness; and they had to learn the literal fighting skills it would take to decimate these enemy nations.

 

Why doesn’t God completely vaporize your every spiritual enemy? Same reasons! He is testing you and teaching you. He allows you to be in strenuous situations to test and temper your faith, and then in those moments, he forces you to learn the art of spiritual warfare, of which the chief weapons are ruthless trust and unquestionable obedience. The argument could be made that you wouldn’t really need the testing and teaching if you were sinlessly perfect, but you are not. So God does you a favor by testing you and teaching you.

 

So, until you are sinlessly perfect—which means you will have died and are firmly in heaven—then praise God that in the meantime, he is getting you battle-ready!

Choose You This Day: Are you enduring hardship and spiritual harassment? Step back and think about how God might be allowing this as a test to temper your faith. Then look for ways to cooperate with God as he gets you prepared for the battle ahead.