Deliverance – Joshua 24:17

For the Lord our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.

At first blush, most of us would have difficulty relating to Joshua’s account of the Lord’s deliverance of the Israelites from the citizens of Jericho and the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites.[1]  However, as we reread these verses and allow the Lord to bring to remembrance the enemies from whom He has delivered us, we soon realize that our own journeys to vanquish the dangerous strongholds that occupied vast territories in our hearts are analogous to the Israelite’s trek through the wilderness to the Promised Land.  We too face brutal and well-armed forces – anger, jealousy, malice, greed, self-centeredness, and their cohorts – that are just as poisonous to the soul as the ancient foes of the Bible were to the body.  Like the Israelites, we too are incapable of standing and defeating our adversaries in our own strength.

Were it not for the Lord’s stalwart protection as He clears the road before us, we would still be stuck in the wilderness.  Without His help, our enemies would overtake us for we are too weak to defend ourselves against such powerful foes,[2] but we need not fight in the battle.  For by the grace of God, we have but to follow Him, to throw away our idols[3] and to trust, not in weapons made with human hands, but in the name of the Lord of hosts, our Defender.[4]

Though we are weak, He is strong.  Though we falter in our faith, He is faithful to uphold us.  We need not defeat vast armies to gain entrance into the place that the Lord has given us.  For He, Himself, by His power and might, will bring His beloved into the holy land where we will have full provision, and He will be a tower for us against an onslaught and a refuge from the wind.  He will shelter us from storms and attack, and He will be like steams of water in the barren land, like the shade of a mighty mountain against the scorching sun.[5]

Are you struggling with foes within and with circumstances without?  Cease striving and set your eyes on the standard-bearer.  Follow the Lord.  Listen to His voice directing you, and obey Him, and He will provide safe passage for you.  Trust Him, and He will deliver you from your enemies and bring you to safety, for He is your refuge and sanctuary, the rock like no other.[6]

Like a refuge from the wind

   And a shelter from the storm

Like a house built on a rock

   With a fire to keep me warm

Like a stream that bubbles up

   In the parched and dusty land

Like a tree, that casts its shade

   Across the sun-scorched sand

Like the safety of a harbor

   On a cruel and angry day

Where my ship can lay its anchor

   Protected in the bay

Such is the Holy Lord who reigns

   In honor, truth, and peace

Such is the One who holds my hand

   Whose love will never cease

[1] Joshua 24:8-13

[2] 2 Chronicles 14:11

[3] Isaiah 30:22

[4] 1 Samuel 17:45

[5] Isaiah 32:2

[6] 1 Samuel 2:2