The Battle Belongs to the Lord - part 2

The Battle Belongs to the Lord (cont.)

There's another principle identified in Joshua 6-7 regarding life's battles. It's the shouting principle. The Israelites were commanded by God to shout before the walls came down. Shouting was to precede victory instead of simply following it. After all, anyone can shout after the miracle takes place. The question is, "Can we shout before the walls fall down?".

I'm reminded of Paul and Silas in Acts 16. They made a conscious decision to shout in praise while being wrongfully imprisoned in a jail cell. Think about the dynamics. It's midnight. I'm sure they're extremely exhausted and sore from the beating they had endured earlier in the day. They're probably hungry and thirsty for not only freedom but basic food and water. And what do they do? They sing songs of praise? They shout to God in victory? Yes!

They shouted before they were free and freedom was the result (including salvation for the jail guard and his family). Honestly, I'm not sure that I'm that close to God. I can picture myself complaining to God and feeling sorry for myself. I can hear myself shouting at God instead of shouting with God. I can actually picture myself giving a similar response to the one that Joshua gives in Joshua 7:-7-9.

After winning at Jericho the Israelites have lost an easy battle at Ai (pronounced "I") because of their disobedience (and usually the "I" battles are lost because we're fighting them instead of God). Then Joshua, the leader, starts shouting at God in defeat. The same guy that shouted with God in victory has turned the tables. Now he's upset with God and he doesn't even ask God why they lost?

Let's bring it home. It's easy for us to shout at God when we don't understand or even like the situations we're in instead of trusting God to bring us through. As a matter of fact, many times we get ourselves in bad situations and then shout at God as if it's His fault (i.e. finances). It was Israel's fault they lost the battle, but God became the scapegoat. They shouted, but it was the wrong kind of shout!

My challenge is this: Shout to God for victory instead of shouting at God in defeat. Now remember, many times the shouts will be shouts of faith because you haven't seen your miracle take place yet. But shout to God in victory and let God fight your battles. After all, God always wins! Now SHOUT!

to be continued...