Joshua 10:28-43 – Our spiritual battles are continuous

Under the inspiration of God, Joshua and the people of Israel went about devoting themselves in the battle of destroying every opposing force. Strategically, they started with the central campaign. After taking the central part of Canaan, they would eventually go down south to conquer cities located there before they move north to destroy the cities there. We saw how they leaned on God in their battles, while the Lord fought for them supernaturally. Here are two lessons that we can draw from these remaining verses of Joshua 10.  

Firstly, they fought continuously. It appears like they had to contest the enemies on a daily basis. Similarly, we also need to battle daily. None of us should rest on our laurel especially after every seeming victory. Winning a battle is great but we must remember what Paul said in Ephesians that we are battling hosts of wickedness and hierarchy of evil. The cohorts of the devil are always scheming to trip and trap us. To forget the fact that the enemy is relentlessly plotting our downfall is foolhardy. That’s why we are told to take our stand in the Lord and be in constant alert. Ours is a daily fight. In 2 Corinthians 6:2 Paul reminds us that “…now is the favorable time…now is the day of salvation.”  Let us not wait for an easier time before we start to serve the Lord. Every day is the day that we must engage in battle. There is no such thing as a perfect time for battle.

Secondly, notice how devotedly Joshua went about taking city after city. The key is devotion. He knew he could not stop till all the enemy forces were annihilated. Why? So long as they remain around, they would pose as a threat to their progress. The moment Israel became complacent and passive, they would become an easy target to be taken off. Similarly, we must be devoted to the battle we are engaging in. We cannot afford to let down our guard. Consider these wise words of the late Benjamin E Mays, an American Baptist minister. He said, “The tragedy of life is often not in our failure, but rather in our complacency; not in our doing too much, but rather in our doing too little; not in our living above our ability, but rather in our living below our capacities.” The daily spiritual battle demands that we remain in active service. We must keep leaning on God and do all that we humanly can do. We will wisely trust God and leave Him to help us do those things that only He can do. In short, let us do what we can and leave God to do what we cannot. Then, a thousand battles, a thousand victories!