Being More Confident

Day one hundred seventy-nine

We had a great Family Home Evening last night.  My eldest son taught a lesson on effective scripture study, which led into a discussion about how each of us can increase or decrease the Spirit in our home.  As I sat and listened to the conversation I was impressed by how far my family has come in spiritual matters.  It is not always easy to have the Spirit in your home when you have teenagers, but when we are all on the same track, there is nothing better or stronger!  My prayer this morning is filled with gratitude for the blessings that are in my home because of the gospel in our lives.  I am grateful that we work together to invite the Spirit into our home and into our individual lives.  I am grateful for the lessons we teach each other and that our goal is to build each other up in a world that wants to tear us down.  I am truly blessed!

Joshua 5:13-6:5; 20-21

Yesterday I wrote about the stronghold's in our lives that keep us from having a deeper relationship with the Lord.  I focused on the things we need to confront in order to effectively tear down the walls.  In part two I would like to focus on the things we need to have confidence in to help us break down the walls.

Part Two - Involves Confidence (Joshua 6:1-5)

Another major step in the path toward spiritual victory over the strongholds of life demands confidence in the Lord. There are three areas in which Joshua displayed confidence. These areas are important to us too.

In God's Promises - Before Joshua goes to battle against the city of Jericho, he is reminded of the Lord's promises to give Israel the victory. There were Past Promises (Josh. 2:9) and there were Present Promises (Josh. 6:2). The past promises reminded Joshua of what the Lord had promised to do long ago. Rahab had known about these promises for years. The present promises reminded Joshua that the Lord had not changed His mind about the matter. God still intended to give Israel the victory.

As we look at our strongholds, we may think that we will never see them fall at our feet. However, we should remember that God will always keep His promises! He has promised us the victory, and the victory shall be ours (1 Cor. 15:57; 2 Cor. 2:14; Rom. 8:37). Whatever God has promised, He is well able to bring to pass (Rom. 4:21; Eph. 3:20). Therefore, we should face our strongholds well assured in the fact that God will do everything He has promised us He will do!

In God's Plan - On the surface, God's plan for Israel's victory seems really strange. After all, what was really required of Israel to bring the walls of Jericho down? Not much! When you get right down to it, all they had to do was to follow God's plan and the walls would fall down flat. What was His plan? Seven priests bearing seven trumpets were to walk before the ark. The priests would blow the trumpets and the people were to walk behind the ark, and the whole parade was to walk around the city once a day for 6 days. On the seventh day, they were to walk around the city seven times and at the end of the seventh time, they were to shout. When this happened, the walls would fall down flat. Strange!

I think the lesson for us becomes clear when we take the time to look closely at what the Lord told them to do.

They were to take seven priests. Seven is the biblical number of completion or fullness. Priests are a picture of an advocate, or one who stood between men and God. This is a picture of a complete or perfect Advocate. According to the Bible, the saints have a perfect Advocate in the Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1). And, as we come against the strongholds of life, He is making intercession for us (Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:34).

They were to take seven ram's horn trumpets. The ram was a picture of Atonement. Remember when Abraham took Isaac to the top of Moriah to put him to death? It was a ram that provided the atoning, redeeming price for Isaac. So, we need a full or perfect atonement. I love the symbolism in this story!

They were to take the ark of the covenant. The ark represents the Lord Jesus Christ in all of His fullness. In the ark was the pot of manna, which speaks of His full provisions. Aaron's budding rod was also in there. This spoke of Christ's power and His life. The tables of the Law were also there. These remind us that He is the fulfillment of the Law for you and me. The idea is this: in Jesus we find all we need to wage the battle against the strongholds in our lives. He gives us all the provisions we need as we fight. He has all power in heaven and in earth. He gives us power to walk in newness of life, free from sin. This is an important part of the plan!

They were simply to take these things and walk with them around the city. God promised them that the walls of Jericho would fall down as a result of their obedience. In other words, all they had to do was have confidence in God's plan, walk with the things He had given them and they would enjoy the victory. He was asking them to walk by faith.

Sometimes the best way to victory is through obedience to the simple things.  We need to walk in faith, doing the little things that God asks us to do (Gal. 2:20).  It is by confidence in His plan, we enjoy the victory. What a great lesson for us!

In God's Power - Israel was about to learn the truth that victory was in the Lord and not in themselves. They were about to participate in the strangest victory in the annuls of history. For them, victory would come about, not as the result of a fierce battle, but as the result of merely trusting God.

There is a time in our lives when we will need to come to realize that there is really only one person we need to please, God. If we live God's way, we will be holier than ever and we won't have to work so hard to enjoy it.  Far too many people are defeated because they are trying to live up to some standard that has been imposed on them by men, when all they really have to do is have confidence in God's ways.   

Today I will try to live my life with more confidence in God's promises, His plans, and in His power.  I could use a break from the stress that comes with the lack of confidence I often find myself in. I tend to over think things and create more complications than solutions.  I am a poster child for the quote: 

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.  ~Confucius

I will stick to the simple things and see where it leads me.  I might just learn that I really enjoy the simple life!