The words slip in at the end of a chapter…
And the land had rest from war. Joshua 4:19
The Israelites have been fighting for the Promised Land.
Fighting for what’s already theirs.
They don’t tell it that way in Sunday School. I always pictured them happily skipping into the land of milk and honey, settling in and making ice cream (well, maybe that last part is just me).
But they went to battle for years.
Sometimes our lives are like that too.
They don’t tell it that way in Sunday School either. We hear that certain blessings and promises are ours and we picture ourselves skipping happily through life (with ice cream cone in hand, of course).
Then we go to battle for years and wonder what went wrong.
God could have snapped his fingers and given the Israelites the land. And for that matter, surely He could do the same for us.
Why doesn’t He?
“I will drive them out a little at a time until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.” Exodus 22:30
God will drive out those nations ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, otherwise the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you. Deuteronomy. 7:22
In other words, it’s about the inside…who we are becoming.
And it’s about the outside…what God is preparing.
As crazy as it sounds, receiving the entire Promised Land all at once would be too much for us. So we possess more of what God has for us little by little.
It’s ours already. God has given it to us.
Victory is sure.
So here’s the secret: Fighting for what we believe God has given us is part of life this side of heaven. It doesn’t mean anything is wrong with us. It means we’re on our way to some really good things.
Then one day, perhaps when we least expect it, we’ll hear it again…
And the land had rest from war. Joshua 4:19
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