Today’s Reading: Joshua 11 – 212; John 18:1-11; Psalm 55

When the five Amorite kings united in hopes to attack Gibeon and defeat Israel, the Lord confirmed to Joshua that he would give them victory. Not only did God faithfully fulfill His promise by letting Joshua and the army defeat their enemies, God joined them on the battlefield.

Joshua traveled all night from Gilgal and took the Amorite armies by surprise. The Lord threw them into a panic, and the Israelites slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon. Then the Israelites chased the enemy along the road to Beth-horon, killing them all along the way to Azekah and Makkedah. As the Amorites retreated down the road from Beth-horon, the Lord destroyed them with a terrible hailstorm from heaven that continued until they reached Azekah. The hail killed more of the enemy than the Israelites killed with the sword. – Joshua 10:9-11

I love this! God was not just watching passively, God was acting on their behalf. Once more, the Lord struck fear in the hearts of their enemies causing them to panic, and it’s hard to win when panic takes over. And even when their opponents were running away from the battle, God caused a hailstorm to wipe the rest of them out. And this is my favorite part — God defeated more of their enemies from above than the Israelites did from below.

GOD DID MORE! GOD DOES MORE! GOD IS MORE!

God did more than they expected Him to do, and He continues to do more than we give Him credit for today. God is more than we will ever need. God had told Joshua that He would be with him, encouraging him to be strong and courageous. And God was present for Jesus when soldiers came to arrest him.

After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples. The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.

Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked.

“Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) As Jesus said “I am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! – John 18:1-6

Simon Peter drew a sword in response to those who came to arrest Jesus, but he was not the first to react to the situation. God was not just watching passively, God was acting on Jesus’ behalf. Once more, the Lord struck fear in the hearts of enemy soldiers, causing them to draw back and fall to the ground. Jesus was not alone in the garden; God had not abandoned him. Although it was not a part of God’s plan for Jesus to avoid arrest, His presence was physically experienced by those who were coming to take Jesus into custody.

What is your battlefield today? How is life pressing in and in what ways do you need God to step in and take over? Let go of the fear and the worry, because panic just leads to us running away from the battle. Pray that God will join you in the middle of everything that is going on and trust Him with the results. Dare to believe that God will fight today’s battle for you.

But I will call on God,
and the Lord will rescue me.
Morning, noon, and night
I cry out in my distress,
and the Lord hears my voice.
He ransoms me and keeps me safe
from the battle waged against me,
though many still oppose me. – Psalm 55:16-18