To be clear, this isn’t like a mob hit that we’re asking God to take out on our behalf, although I guess there might be some similarities! So, how did this topic rise to the top of the heap this week?
Our pastor is preaching through the book of Joshua and if you know your Old Testament books and stories at all, you’ll recall that this is where God brings his people out of the wandering in the wilderness and into the Promised Land, with Joshua as their leader.
Here’s where it gets a little dicey and where some people tune out because there are some difficult scenarios to process. In order to get this Promised Land, the current occupants need to be removed. And so begin some pretty bloody battles where entire nations are conquered and often destroyed.
As the pastor was helping us navigate and make sense of all the violence, he landed on a statement that struck me, not only for its likely intended meaning in this context, but in a surprisingly personal way as well.
Here’s the statement in all its simplicity: God will always protect his children by defeating their enemies.
That’s exactly what was going on in this Promised Land. The nations were idol worshippers and would draw God’s people away from him and into the worship of false gods. So God essentially “cleaned house” and fulfilled the promise he made to Abraham long ago.
Whether or not you can get your head around those reasons, here’s how that same statement hit me completely out of the blue.
I immediately thought about the enemies in my own life that God would also eventually defeat. It likely wouldn’t happen until he calls me home or sends Jesus back, but ultimately, he will protect me by defeating these enemies – loneliness, heartache, grieving, tears, missing Dale.
Are you surprised I consider those things enemies? Frankly, so was I! It was a thought from God that truly caught me off guard. But as I pondered it in those next few minutes, I saw the truth in that perspective. The Holy Spirit was at work in my heart!
All of those “enemies” exist because we live in a fallen world where we struggle with innumerable difficulties. And as a widow, I find them mostly front and center in my life. They are the enemies that rob me of too much joy in this life, but I know there is hope ahead in MY Promised Land – Heaven!
That’s where every enemy that causes me – and all of you – pain will ultimately be defeated.
This concept of God protecting me by defeating all the hard things in my life literally brought me to tears as shared this perspective with the pastor. That difficult, seemingly irrelevant scripture text went from describing a centuries-old battle to becoming a powerful truth in my life today.
That’s what is meant when people say that Bible is a living, breathing document. Here’s how it’s described in 2 Timothy 3:16-17:
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
What I love the most about this concept and about this particular “revelation” is that God speaks so personally through his Word. Hundreds of people could read the same scripture texts and yet receive individualized applications. That’s exactly what happened that Sunday morning.
It’s just one example of how I know God is with me on this journey called life. His Spirit speaks directly to mine, giving me insights meant specifically for me. What kind of God does that? Mine does. And so does yours if you’ve put your faith in this mighty God of the Bible.
In a world where it’s easy to doubt if anyone is actually in charge, we can be sure that God’s hand is directing every single step of every piece of his creation. And after all these centuries, one of the very best places to hear his “voice” is in the Bible. I was reminded of that in the most unlikely place, and he can surely do the same in your life.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow,
and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12