SERVICES: SATURDAY 6PM | SUNDAY 9AM & 10:45AM. 

We Livestream at www.FaithFellowshipWeb.com/livestream, through the FFC App, and YouTube.

God is Bigger

Words of Faith Final

God is Bigger

Words of Faith 9-21-2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2020

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

To unsubscribe, follow the directions at the end of this devotion.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

 

Joshua 11:1-6
       [1]  When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Acshaph, [2]  and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Kinnereth, in the western foothills and in Naphoth Dor on the west; [3]  to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites below Hermon in the region of Mizpah. [4]  They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots--a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. [5]  All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

      [6]  The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel, slain. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots."

 

      The Promised Land did not simply fall into the hands of the Israelites. They had to take possession of the land. Of course, the power of God was with them as long as they listened to His instruction. There were many kings to face and defeat. After facing the five kings in the south, Joshua faced an even greater challenge in the north.

       Joshua was a brilliant military strategist and a strong spiritual leader. From a military perspective, his tactics serve to instruct us. He was proactive rather than reactive. When he learned that an attack was impending, he preceded it by an attack of his own. Joshua also used the element of surprise to his advantage. He often split his forces to cut off a retreating enemy and prevent them from reaching their cities.

        Joshua was also a spiritual example to the people. He was a man of great integrity.  He stood by his word.  He held firm to the promise his spies made to Rahab. He also kept faith with the deceptive Gibeonites. He never used his position for personal gain.

       The victories in the south had crushed the enemies there.  The kings in the north heard about the exploits of Joshua and formed a coalition. There was no love lost between these northern kings, but the threat of destruction drew them together in an alliance. The combined army was impressive. Josephus, the Jewish historian, speculated that this northern confederacy included 300,000 infantry soldiers, 10,000 cavalry troops, and 20,000 chariots.

       The huge Canaanite force pitched camp at the Waters of Merom. The likely plan was to organize their detachments and then sweep down the Jordan Valley to attack Joshua at Gilgal. But Joshua did not wait for the battle to come to him. He was, in fact, already marching toward Merom, a five-day trek from his home base.

        As he marched, Joshua had a lot of time to think about the immense army awaiting him. No doubt, he trembled at the prospect of the battle that loomed before him. This was big, but Joshua was reminded that God was bigger.

       The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel, slain. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots."

        There are several big truths here.

        When we beat one set of enemies, another will rise up. The battle will continue. When we whip one group of powers that seek to rule our lives, another is not far behind. The strategy of the Lord is to keep fighting on our behalf until we come into the Promise and the Promised Land.

        We also see, again, that Joshua acts proactively.  He was not sitting around, waiting for the next enemy to come across the valley. While the enemy was still fumbling around to organize, Joshua was on the march. There are times when enemies seem overwhelming, but God is bigger, and we need to be on the move.

         But most importantly, we hear the call to courage. Do not be afraid. God is still God. His power is greater than any enemy or coalition we may face. We need the same assurance today.

          Have you had those times when you felt overwhelmed? Like the enemy attacks keep coming?  Don’t miss this.  Do not be afraid.  God is greater.  And listen carefully. He may want you to act proactively.

 

        Father God, sometimes the enemies of this earth seem overwhelming. Let me find courage in You today. Lift up my head that I might see You and focus on Your glory.  Give me the strength to be proactive against the enemies of my soul. In Jesus' Name.

 

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2005, 2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an E-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an E-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -     

The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.