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| January 24 | | | | | For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. | | | | Joshua 8:26 | | | | | Where did Joshua get the idea to stretch out his spear during the battle? I suggest it was forty years earlier at Rephidim. The Amalekites were fighting the Israelites. And Moses said to Joshua, “You lead the troops in the valley. I’ll go to the mountain and pray.” Moses held high the rod of God. And as he held it up, Joshua and the troops were victorious. But when his hands grew weary and the rod began to fall, the Amalekites gained the upper hand. Moses lifted his hands once again, and Israel took the lead. The battle seesawed back and forth until Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands until the victory was completely secure for the Israelites.“Write this scene in a book,” God said to Moses. “And rehearse it in the ears of Joshua so that he will know that the reason for his victory in the valley was not due to his strategy or ability but rather because there was intercession and prayer on the mountain” (Exodus 17:8-14).A lot of us have lost our passion for God. Devotions have become drowsy. Prayer, if we bother, is routine and repetitious chatter. But here’s the good news: God cares so passionately about you and me that He will not allow us to remain in a state of passionless religiosity. C. S. Lewis nailed it when he said that God whispers to us in our pleasure, but shouts to us in our pain. Pain and passion walk hand in hand. If you’re married, you understand this. Things get routine, mundane, boring. But when she says something she ought not to, or when he does something he ought not to, there’s pain. Feelings are released. Frustrations are vented. Tears flow. But it all leads to passion as the couple is engaged once again. “I want you either hot or cold,” says the Lord (see Revelation 3:16). Yes, you have morning devotions and evening prayer. But there’s no smiting of the arrow, no holding up of the spear throughout the whole day, no putting your head between your knees until there’s death, drought, or the specter of a Syrian attack. God will not let you reside in a passionless state with Him indefinitely. He will send you pain.The reason Joshua held up his spear is because he was tired of seeing his friends dead and defeated. I can’t afford this any more, he must have thought. The stakes are high, so I will stand here. I will prevail. And he did.G. Campbell Morgan said that faith answers questions and is, therefore, out of business when no question is asked. If there are no questions, there is no need for faith. And when do questions arise? When I’m going through difficulty and pain. Therefore, as believers, we can have a unique outlook on pain and setbacks if we see them as the fuel of passion. We can, in fact, count them all joy (James 1:2). | |
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