Joshua 5:14-15
"Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?" The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.
Once Joshua heard that the Lord is to be the commander of the army of Jehovah, he immediately fell facedown and acknowledged that the Lord was the commander of their army. Surrendering leadership to the Lord is the secret of winning spiritual battles - Giving the authority of life to the Lord. Those who have been in the army understood that the first lesson in boot camp is to learn obeying order absolutely. To complete any task in the army, everyone has to obey unconditionally. Similarly, in spiritual battles, we have to obey God's command absolutely. We must first ask for his kingdom, not our own interests.
As we serve God, we encounter many difficulties. There are many enemies. But we neglect to realize that the number one enemy who obstructs God's work is quite often not others, but ourselves. We want to serve God according to our own wills and our own ways. We do what we want to do. We care for what we want to care for. It is as if we are building a mini kingdom for ourselves. That kingdom could be in your home. Or maybe it is in your cell group. Or it could be at church. When we do this, we exclude God from the kingdom. Isn't God the Lord of church, family, and our own lives? If it is, what does He want us to do? If He truly tells us to do something, will we follow?
We have to seriously deal with the question of who has authority in our lives. If it is God's will for us to preach gospel, then no matter how inconvenient it is, we have to follow His command. If it is God's will for us to enter local community, to provide service, then no matter how difficult it is we have to do it. If it is God's will for us to love our wives, to obey our husbands, then we have to follow wholeheartedly. In the realm of service, God reigns over everything. Serving God doesn't mean devising our own ways, then ask for God's blessing. It is for all of us to seek God's will and then follow.
Hebrew chapter 11 mentions that when God called on Abraham to leave his homeland, he didn't know where to go. But Abraham was waiting for a city that had good foundation, a city that was built by God. Equally, when we face the challenges ahead, we often don't know where to start. We have to follow Abraham's faith, not relying on our own hands or our own ways, but to let God build and let God manage. During the process, let us offer our lives to God so that we can partner with God.
Lord, I am willing to put my life in your hands again, for you are the only king in my life. May God break down the walls of Jericho of my life and all strongholds so that my heart and spirit can be truly free. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!
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