God Fights for You

 

God Fights for You

For the Lord has driven out great and powerful nations for you, and no one has yet been able to defeat you. Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he has promised. So be very careful to love the Lord your God. (Joshua 23:9-11)

Nadin Khoury was thirteen years old, five foot two, and weighed maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet. His attackers were teenagers, much larger than Nadin, and outnumbered him seven to one. For thirty minutes they hit, kicked and beat him. He didn’t stand a chance. Nadin’s mom had recently moved the family to Philadelphia from Minnesota. She’d lost her job as a hotel maid and was looking for work. In 2000, she'd escaped war-torn Liberia. As a result, Nadin Khoury was the new kid in a rough neighborhood with a mom who was an unemployed immigrant – everything a wolf pack of bullies needed to justify an attack.

The hazing began weeks earlier. They picked on him; they called his mother names. They routinely pushed, shoved and ambushed him. Then came the all-out assault on a January day. They dragged him through the snow, stuffed him into a tree and then suspended him on a seven-foot wrought-iron fence. Nadin survived the attack and would have likely faced a few more except for the foolishness of one of the bullies. He filmed the pile-on and then posted it to YouTube. A passerby saw the violence and chased the attackers away. Police saw the video and got involved, and the troublemakers eventually landed in jail, and the story went viral.

A staffer at the nationwide morning show, The View, read the account and invited Nadin to appear on the broadcast. He did. As the video of the assault played on the screen behind him, he tried to appear brave, but his lower lip was quivering. "Next time maybe it could be somebody smaller than me," he said. Unbeknownst to him, however, the producer had invited some other Philadelphians to appear on the show as well. And just as the YouTube video ended, the curtain opened and three gigantic men walked out, all members of the Philadelphia Eagles football team. Nadin, a rabid fan, turned and smiled. One of the athletes was All-Pro receiver DeSean Jackson, who’s now retired. Jackson took a seat on the couch, as close to the boy as possible, and promised him, "Anytime you need us, I got two linemen right here." Nadin’s eyes widened like saucers as Jackson signed a football jersey and handed it to him. Then, in full view of every bully in America, DeSean gave the boy his cell phone number. From that day forward Nadin has been only a call away from his personal bodyguards. Thugs think twice before they harass the kid who has an NFL football player's number on speed dial. Pretty good offer. Who wouldn't want that type of protection? Joshua did.

Brutal and bloodthirsty enemies occupied the Promised Land. Joshua's men were untested. His leadership was unproven. Yet in spite of the odds, God guaranteed the conquest. "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you." (Josh. 1:5) It was as if God told him, "Jericho has its thick, tall walls, but you have me. The Amorites have home-field advantage, but you have the King of heaven on your side. The enemies have more chariots, experience and artillery, but I am stronger still. And I will not leave you or forsake you." And God gives you the same promise. In fact, the writer of Hebrews quoted the words in his epistle: "For [God] has said, 'I will never leave you or forsake you.' So, we can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?'" (Heb. 13:5-6)

That last question is a troubling one, however. What can anyone do to me? Because you know the answers. "Lie to me," "Injure me," "Bully me." But the Scripture asks a different question. If the Lord is your helper, what can anyone do to you? The Greek word for "helper" in this passage is boetheia, from boé, which means "a shout," and théō, which means "to run." When you need help, God runs with a shout, "I'm coming!" He never leaves you. Ever. He never takes a break, takes a nap or takes time off. He never leaves your side. Lost your job? That’s hard, but God’s your helper. Is your red blood cell count low? Difficult for sure, but the one who made you is with you. A world rife with conflict? Yes it is but, still, the Almighty will never leave you or forsake you. Consequently, everything changes. Since God is strong, you can be strong. Since he is able, you’ll be able. Since he has no limits, you have no limits. With the apostle you can boldly say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Heb. 13:6) But there’s more.

The biggest – and best – news of Joshua is this: God not only stays with you, but he fights for you. Not only does God desire that you live your best life, but he fights for you so that you can. This was the main point of Joshua's victory speech. Envision the commander as he stands before his army to deliver one of his final messages. "I am old," he begins, "advanced in age . . . [T]his day I am going the way of all the earth." (Josh. 23:2, 14) He was 110 years old when he died (24:29), so he must have been nearly that age when he gave this speech. He has a rush of white hair and a chest-length beard. His back is stooped, but his voice is strong. He stands on a rock and looks out over a valley full of faces. When he lifts his hand to speak, their voices fall silent. He’d led them out of the wilderness, through the Jordan River, and into Canaan. When Joshua spoke, they listened. Joshua has seen every significant moment of the last half century. "You have seen all that the Lord your God has done," he announces to his soldiers. (23:3) The Jordan River opened, and the Jericho walls fell. The sun stood still, and the enemies scattered. The Hebrews inhabited farms they did not plow and ate from vineyards they did not plant. And Joshua, in his final words, wants to make sure they’ve received the message: "The Lord your God is he who has fought for you." (v. 3)

The Hebrews took the land not because of their skill, but God's. Throughout the book of Joshua, God does the fighting. In his call to battle Joshua told his men, "Go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess." (Josh. 1:11) Then again, "The Lord your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land." (v:13) On the eve of the Jordan crossing, Joshua declared, "The Lord will do wonders among you." (3:5) As they stood on the western side of the river, Joshua deduced, "The Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan." (4:23) On the outskirts of Jericho "Joshua said to the people: 'Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!'" (6:16) The entire narrative reads like this: God claiming; God giving; God defending. Joshua summarized the victory by saying, "For the Lord has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day. One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is he who fights for you, as he promised you." (23:9-10)

Don't you love that image? One man of you shall chase a thousand. I envision a single Hebrew soldier with drawn sword racing after an entire battalion of enemies. He’s outnumbered a thousand to one, but since God fights for him they scatter like scared seagulls. So, picture the same. The Amorites of your life – fears, dread, hatred and hurt – come at you like a legion of hoodlums. Yet rather than run away, you turn and face them. You unsheathe the promise of God's Word and defy the enemies of God's cause. You’re a lion and they’re the rats. "Get out of here, shame. Goodbye, guilt. Fear of death, regrets of the past – take your puny attacks somewhere else." You weren’t made to quake in fear. You weren’t made to be beholden to your past. You weren’t made to limp through life like a wimp. You are a living, breathing expression of God. What's more, God fights for you.

Is that a new thought? You've heard about the God who made you, watches you, directs you and knows you . . . but the God who fights for you? Who blazes the trail ahead of you? Who defends you? Who collapses walls, stills the sun and rains hail on the devil and all his forces? Did you know that God is fighting for you? That "with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles"? (2 Chron. 32:8) That "our God will fight for us"? (Neh. 4:20) That the Lord will "fight against those who fight against [you]"? (Ps. 35:1) God fights for you. Let those four words sink in for just a moment.

God. The CEO, President, King, Supreme Ruler, Absolute Monarch, Czar, Emperor, and Raja of all history. He runs interference and provides cover. He is impeccably perfect, tirelessly strong and unquestionably capable. He is endlessly joyful, wise and willing. And he fights for you. He deploys angels and commands weather. He stands down Goliaths and vacates cemeteries. He fights – for your health, for your family, for your faith, and for your restoration. Are the odds against you? Is the teacher against you? Is your boss against you? Difficult to be sure, but God fights for You. Yes, you. You with the sordid past. You with the receding hairline. You with the absentee dad. You with the bad back, bad credit or bad job. He fights not just for the rich, pretty or religious. He fights for the you’s of the world. And aren’t you a you?

The big news of the Bible is not that you fight for God, but that God fights for you. And to know this – to know that your Father fights for you – is an unparalleled source of empowerment. You'd love for someone to rush to your defense, to stand up on your behalf. Well, God has. And God does. When God became flesh, he fought for your soul. When Jesus faced the devil in the wilderness, he fought for your peace. When he stood up for the neglected, was he not standing up for you? When he died on the cross for your sins, he fought for your salvation. When he left the Holy Spirit to guide, strengthen and comfort you, he was fighting for your life. Miss this truth and you might as well plant a mailbox in the wilderness because you’ll be there for an exceptionally long time. But believe this truth and watch the clouds begin to clear. Believe this: “[God] won't let you stumble; your Guardian God won't fall asleep. Not on your life! Israel's Guardian will never doze or sleep. God’s your guardian, right at your side to protect you – shielding you from sunstroke, sheltering you from moon stroke. God guards you from every evil, he guards your very life. He guards you when you leave and when you return, he guards you now, he guards you always.” (Ps. 121:3-8 – MSG)

Toward the end of the invasion, the narrator of Joshua's story itemizes all the kings that the people of Israel had defeated. He does so in an interesting way. “The king of Jericho – one. The king of Ai – one. The king of Jerusalem – one. The king of Hebron – one.” (Josh. 12:9-10) The list goes on for thirty-one lines. Each line has a name and the word one. It's as if the victors were placing a check mark on their list of enemies and announcing the score: Joshua – 31 vs. Canaanites – 0. Imagine your list. Envision the day you stand before Jesus, your Jeshua, and look back over your life. "God will give to each one whatever praise is due." (1 Cor. 4:5) And your Commander will declare: "With my help, John Doe took on the enemies of his inheritance and drove them out. Greed - one! Explosive temper – one! Envy – one! Abused as a child yet stable as an adult. Tempted with drugs yet sober and steady. Strayed off course yet returned with vigor. One! One! One!"

One by one the conquests will be read and celebrated. Every witness will rejoice at the work God did. This is God's goal for you, and this is your future: more victory than defeat, more joy than sadness, more hope than despair. These can be your best days because God fights for you – always.

Grace,

Randy

Living on the Backside of the Needlepoint

 

Living on the Backside of the Needlepoint

Living on the Backside of the Needlepoint - Audio/Visual 

So, the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which he had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that he had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass. (Josh. 21:43-45)

Faith is a choice, and believers risk the choice. When forced to stand at the crossroads of belief and unbelief, they choose belief. They place one determined step after the other on the pathway of faith, but seldom with a skip; it’s usually with a limp. They make a conscious decision to step toward God, to lean into hope, and to heed the call of heaven. They press into the promises of God. Joshua's story urges us to do the same. In fact, one could argue that the central message of the book is this headline: "God keeps his promises. Trust him."

“All came to pass.” (Josh. 21:45) These four words in three verses are the theological heart of the book of Joshua. They rise up like trumpets at the end of the narrative. "Don't miss this! Attention everyone. God keeps his word!" The writer pounds the point in triplicate. Three times in three verses he declares: God did what he said he would do. (1) "The Lord gave . . . all . . . he had sworn to give." (v. 43) (2) "The Lord gave . . . rest . . . according to all that he had sworn to their fathers." (v. 44) (3) "Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken . . . All came to pass." (v. 45) Author, Dale Ralph Davies, was so taken by that last statement that he entitled his Joshua study No Falling Words.

We live in a world of falling words. A world of broken promises and empty vows. Pledges made only to be retracted. They were spoken with great fanfare like, "I'll always love you," or "Count on us to recognize your good work," or "’Till death do us part." But words tend to tumble. They’re like autumn leaves in a November's wind. You've heard your share, I’m sure, but you'll never hear them from God. In a world of falling words, his remain. In a life of broken promises, he keeps his. "The Lord's promise is sure. He speaks no careless word; all he says is purest truth, like silver seven times refined." (Ps. 12:6)

God is a covenant-keeping God. Want proof? The narrator tells us to simply look at history. "The Lord gave to Israel all the land of which he had sworn to give to their fathers." (Josh. 21:43) Specifically, God gave Abraham a promise. "Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, 'To your descendants I will give this land.'" (Gen. 12:7) That was six hundred years earlier. Who would have believed that it would ever happen? When Abraham died, the only land he owned was Sarah's cemetery plot. His descendants were sharecroppers at best and slaves at worst, living in Egyptian servitude and bondage for 400 years. Moses led them near, but never into Canaan. How many sons of Abraham looked to the stars and prayed, “God, will you keep your promise?” The answer from the pages of Joshua is, “Yes.” God promised to bless Abraham, and through Abraham's seed all the nations of the earth. "I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen. 12:2-3)

This was the promise partially fulfilled in Joshua. And this is the promise completely fulfilled in Jesus. In him all nations are blessed. In Jesus, every person has hope and the possibility of redemption. No wonder the apostle Paul wrote, "All the promises of God find their “Yes” in [Jesus]." (2 Cor. 1:20) Our God is a promise-keeping God. Others may make a promise and forget, but if God makes a promise, he keeps it. "He who promised is faithful." (Heb. 10:23)

Does that matter? Does God's integrity make a difference? Does his faithfulness come into play? When your child is on life support, it does. When you're pacing the ER floor, it does. When you are wondering what to do with every parent's worst nightmare, you have to choose. Faith or fear. God's purpose or random history. A God who knows and cares, or a God who isn't there? We all choose. Believers choose to trust God's promises. That’s what believers do. They  believe. They choose to believe that God is up to something good even though all we see looks bad. They echo the verse of the hymn, My Hope is Built on Nothing Less: “His oath, his covenant, his blood, support me in the whelming flood.”

Nothing deserves your attention more than God's covenants. No words written on paper will ever sustain you like the promises of God. Do you know them? To the bereaved: "Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." (Ps. 30:5) To the besieged: "The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." (Ps. 34:19) To the sick: "The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness." (Ps. 41:3) To the lonely: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you." (Isa. 43:2) To the dying: "In my Father's house are many rooms . . . I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2) To the sinner: "My grace is sufficient for you." (2 Cor. 12:9) These promises are for your good. "And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires." (2 Peter 1:4)

Lean into God's promises. When fears surface, respond with this thought: But God said …. When doubts arise, But God said …. When guilt overwhelms you, But God said …. Declare these words: "You have rescued me, O God who keeps his promises." (Ps. 31:5) Turn again and again to God's spoken covenants. Search the Scriptures like a miner digging for gold. Once you find a nugget, grab it. Trust it. Take it to the bank. Do what I did with the promise of a pilot.

On a flight many years ago, bad weather had come our way. The flight into Los Angeles was delayed by storms. We landed at the exact time the final flight into San Diego was scheduled to depart. As we taxied toward the gate, I was checking my watch, thinking about hotels and grumbling at the bad break. Then over the loud speaker a promise. "This is the pilot. I know many of you have connections. Relax. You'll make them. We are holding your planes. We have a place for you." Well, I thought, he wouldn't say that if he didn't mean it. So, I decided to trust his promise. I stopped thinking about hotels. I quit checking my watch. I relaxed. I waited my turn to get off the plane and set my sights on my next gate. I marched through the concourse with confidence. Hadn't the pilot given me a promise? Other people in the airport that evening weren't so fortunate. They, also victims of inclement weather, were in a panic. Travelers were scrambling, confused and worried. Their expressions betrayed their fear. Too bad their pilot hadn't spoken to them. Or maybe he had, and they just didn’t listen. Your Pilot has spoken to you, as well. Will you listen? I mean really listen.

One of my favorite images of God’s working in our lives, especially during hard times, is a picture of God doing needlepoint. Have you ever seen a finished needlepoint? It’s beautiful; some even have the piece framed as art. But have you ever looked at the back of that same needlepoint? It’s a mess of multi-colored threads and knots. On this side of heaven, we stand behind the needlepoint and usually see only the knotted ends and frayed edges of what God is doing. But if we could see the other side of the needlepoint, we would see God doing something beautiful. Instead, we live on the backside of the needlepoint with painful circumstances and God’s purposes unclear. When have you struggled to see what God was doing? How have you struggled to believe that he was weaving anything beautiful? Can you think of a time when God gave you a glimpse of the “beautiful side” of the needlepoint after a season of staring at the backside? We spend a lot of time staring at the “ugly side” of the needlepoint.

And if you haven’t struggled, maybe you know someone who is, and the temptation is to see the knotted underside of the needlepoint in your friend, or spouse, or family and give them encouragement by speculating as to what the beautiful thing is that God is doing. We like to suggest possible hopeful outcomes, to write our own endings to God’s story. That’s not particularly helpful, however, because we don’t actually know for sure what God is doing – even if we sometimes think we do. But it’s also not helpful because it implies that what is needed for us to trust God in these hard times is an understanding of what he’s doing, where that particular part of the story fits into the bigger picture. Biblically, that’s not what God tells us is needed. Ask Job. Ask Joseph. Ask the author of Ecclesiastes.

Our seeing the tapestry from God’s viewpoint and understanding the whole story is not the answer. God says the answer is to know and trust the Weaver, to know and trust that he is indeed making something beautiful, that he is in fact a God who redeems and restores even the most broken and hopeless situation even when we don’t understand why or how. He actually calls us to live almost exclusively looking at the backside of the needlepoint. Our hope from that side is a trust that there is a beautiful side being created by a Master Weaver who keeps his promises.

In other words, we don’t need to tell Jack and Jill how their marital struggles are part of God’s grander purposes or tell Sally how her heartbreak will be redeemed. Instead, when those “ugly sides” of the tapestry are shared, we can love others well by reminding them of who God is, what he is like as a God who can be trusted to keep his promises, and how much he understands their pain and has experienced it himself on the cross. That’s a God we can trust. That’s a Weaver who gives us hope from the backside of the needlepoint. The faith that turns to God in the darkest hour, and praises God with the weakest body. The kind of faith that trusts in God's promises. The kind of faith that proclaims, "Faith is a choice, and I choose faith” – even while living on the backside of the needlepoint.

Grace,

Randy