Game. Set. Match.

SYNOPSIS: In Israel’s conquest of their Promised Land, the day came when their leader Joshua declared, “mission accomplished!” God had given all their enemies into their hands and fulfilled all of his good promises to them. Game! Set! Match! That is a true picture of the believer’s journey with God—periods of walking, waiting and working, but never any wasted timed. God is leading and guiding, strengthening, purifying and tempering us into a holy people fit to possess his promises. And at stages in the journey, he brings us to places of victory and rest. We should anticipate those places, pray for them, and cooperate with God to get there as quickly as we can—knowing that our stubbornness, rebellion and lack of trust will slow the journey down. And when we get there, we should continually remember that it was the good Lord who gave us the victory. Game! Set! Match!

The Journey // Focus: Joshua 21:43-45

So the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.

Total victory! It might take a while to get there, and it will involve hard work, sacrifice along with a no-giving-up spirit, but when we are on God’s side and God is on ours, like Joshua and the Israelites, there will come a day when the Lord will give all our enemies into our hands and every single one of his good promises will be fulfilled to us. Game. Set. Match. And God will smile, for the truest and best victory is the smile of God.

For Israel, that took a very long time. Some of that extended time was the result of their stubbornness and rebellion—they had to repeat first grade: some of it was simply the nature of conquest—remember, this wasn’t a field trip, this was warfare, and warfare requires grit and determination; some of it gets chalked up to the sovereign ways of God—he lives outside of human time, so he is not a clock-watcher like we are as he develops his people into champions for life.

Not only did Israel’s journey take a long time, but it was full of hardship, battle and testing. Again, chalk that up to the sovereign ways of God—he was preparing his people for possessing his promises, and they needed to first be tempered. Yes, it took a long period of walking, then waiting, then working, followed by a long period of working, then waiting, then walking some more, but none of the time was wasted.

Finally, the day came when Joshua declared, at least for this stage of Israel’s journey with God, “mission accomplished!” Game. Set. Match. God had given all their enemies into their hands and fulfilled all of his good promises to them.

That is a true picture of the believer’s journey with God—periods of walking, waiting and working, but never any wasted timed. God is leading and guiding, strengthening, purifying and tempering us into a holy people fit to possess his promises. And at stages in the journey, he brings us to places of victory and rest. We should anticipate those places, pray for them, and cooperate with God to get there as quickly as we can—knowing that our stubbornness, rebellion and lack of trust will slow the journey down. And when we get there, we should continually remember that it was the good Lord who gave us the victory.

Game! Set! Match! That is the story the good Lord has pre-written about your life and mine. And while there will be other conquests until we reach heaven, when you reach victory in the present moment of challenge, remember who gave it to you. When you overcome a sin, receive an answer, and achieve a success, remember that it was the good Lord giving you a win over your enemies and fulfilling his good promises to you.

Likewise, remember that since God has a history of giving victory and fulfilling promises in your life, he will definitely be there for the next conquest, too. He is true to his character and faithful to his covenant with you—always. And he will never fail you—never!

So enjoy the victory of this moment and be encouraged with whatever tomorrow holds. And between now and heaven, get ready to hear it a lot:

Game. Set. Match.