(JOSHUA 6:8-20)
You must have a plan to win the battle! I get so many emails each day from
people all over the world who are in the midst of major battles in their
life. They are desperate, looking for something magical to happen to make
their circumstances different overnight. I pray that by now you know how
much I love you and care about you. I try to give myself each day to
standing with you and helping you through the trials of everyday life. This
is one of those days that I need to use some tough love on you. So many of
you have absolutely unrealistic expectations about resolving your problems,
that you need someone to tell you the truth. I hear over and over each day
people say, "God has abandoned me, He doesn't love me, or how could He make
me go through this." The fact is God has never left you, God loves you
unconditionally, and you go through most of the battles in your life because
you do not have a plan to win!
In today's scripture, we read about the plan God gave Joshua to take the
city of Jericho. Granted, it was an unusual plan, but it was a plan given
by God, that when faithfully executed, worked. When the Allies stormed the
beaches of Normandy on D-day, do you think they just woke up one morning and
decided to give it a try? Absolutely not. The generals spent months
planning, looking at all the different scenarios, strategizing, coming up
with the best plan they could to win that important battle. When you face
the battles in your life each day, why do you think you can just wake up and
wish those battles to go away? That is unrealistic. It is also unrealistic
to think that God is some genie in the bottle you call on when in trouble to
snap His fingers and make it all go away. The fact is, most of your battles
didn't just happen overnight, they developed over a period of time. Victory
will probably not happen overnight either, it will take place over a period
of time. Let me interject that God can do anything, and if He in His
sovereign will chooses to eliminate your problems overnight, He CAN do that.
However, that is normally not the way God works. He will make you work for
victory, because in the process several things occur. You learn how to be
obedient, faithfully execute God's plan for your life, and depend upon Him.
The question then becomes, where do I get this plan? God gives us His plan
for victory in many ways. This is again why it becomes critical to have
that intimate daily relationship with Him. It is in that close daily
contact through prayer and the Word, that He speaks to us. In our
circumstances He speaks to us. Through the counsel of others He speaks to
us. It is a combination of all the above that helps us formulate a
game plan, His plan to overcome and be victorious. One important element I
just mentioned was the counsel of others. God has placed mature, Godly
people in our life strategically to help us overcome our battles. Drop your
pride and reach out to the wise counsel of others. Let them know your
struggles and ask them to help you formulate a viable plan to see victory.
Once armed with the plan God gives you, it requires you to be like Joshua.
Faithfully and obediently follow the plan. Trust God and put your faith in
Him. He won't let you down.
I will be praying today that these words find a fertile resting place in
your hearts and minds today. Focus today on spending time with the Lord to
formulate a game plan to gain victory over whatever battles you might be
fighting today. God will give you the plan; then it is up to you to follow
the plan. There really is victory in Jesus. He has won the victory over
whatever battle you are facing 2000 years ago on Calvary. It is time to
start living your life in that victory. It is tough for God to use defeated
soldiers to fight the spiritual battles each day. That is why it is
critical to get victory in your life, so that you can lead others to
victory. May your number one priority today be getting a plan from God to
win the battles you are facing in your life, execute the plan faithfully,
and as my signature scripture from 1 Corinthians 15:57 says, "But thanks be
to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
