The Joy of Glory

Joshua 23:1-11 (click here)
…you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the LORD your God who has fought for you…

The LORD your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight…

For the LORD has driven out before you great and strong nations…

…it is the LORD your God who fights for you, just as he promised you.
(Joshua 23:3, 5, 9, and 10)

Reflection
Joshua was a strong military leader.

He’d spent his life fighting battle after battle and had seen much success. He was a leader. A decorated solider. Followed and respected.

Joshua had every reason to be self-confident and trust in his own abilities. Yet at the end of his life, when he looked back over all the battles fought and victories won, he saw one thing… the sovereign hand of God!

It was the Lord who had fought for Israel. It was God who led them into the promised land as he drove other nations out. It was God who kept all his promises. Joshua may have yelled commands, held a shield, and wielded a sword, but God was at work in his voice, strength, and skill.

No matter what each of us do, we must ask to whom do we give the credit for our successes? When we get to the end of our days… if the Lord allows us time to reflect… in whom will we boast?

We are a people who boast in the Lord and the Lord alone! For others may trust in horses, and still others in chariots, but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God! No matter the means, it is always the sovereign hand of God working through it for our ultimate good, which is his glory!

So as you go about your day, each and every day, rely upon the power that God has promised to provide for you to do his will, for his glory, in everything. “Whether you each or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

…for it is the Lord who fights for you!

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com
*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.