what is your greatest challenge?
Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No, rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” And the captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5.13-15)
That was then… this is now…
Then Joshua was forty years younger…
Then Moses was in charge…
Then God seemed to work miracles daily…
Then there was so much momentum, but…
Then common sense supplanted faith…
Then the people abandoned their future to fear…
Then the nation wandered for forty years…
Then Joshua witnessed the death
of his generation…
But that was then, and this is now…
Now Joshua is forty years older…
Now Jericho’s walls are no smaller…
Now Jericho’s streets are no less populated…
Now Jericho’s might has not diminished…
Now Joshua is forty years older…
Now he stands before a fortified city…
Now he has no battle plans…
Now the risks of defeat are real…
Now Joshua is forty years older—and the underdog.
Now his troops are young and inexperienced…
Now he does not hold a strategic position…
Now he lacks the element of surprise…
Now he needs a miracle…
That was then… this is now…
Then it was the eve of a great battle…
Then behold! A man was standing opposite him…
Then the man’s sword was drawn…
Then Joshua lifted up his eyes and looked…
Now Joshua is still forty years older…
Now he is not the warrior he once was…
Now Joshua is still a man of vision;
Now there is still hope…
Now Joshua still sees...
Jericho is not just a city to conquer…
Jericho is not merely the enemy…
Jericho is not simply an obstacle to overcome…
Jericho is not a racial issue (Jew vs. Gentile)…
Jericho is not solely the execution of divine wrath…
Now Joshua is forty years older…
Now Joshua is a man of vision and
Now Joshua sees the truth…
Before Jericho falls…
Joshua must bow…
Before Jericho is defeated…
Joshua must surrender…
Loved ones, you stand at the threshold of a strategic season full of our Father’s opportunities for you. Yet vision without surrender is thinly disguised vanity. Your greatest challenge for this season will not be cultural trends, social indifference, or shallow commitments. Your greatest challenge will not be acquisitions, growth, change, loss, sorrow or your age.
Your greatest challenge will be to bow fully and surrender daily to Jesus Christ. This means surrendering to Him everything in your life that you are currently withholding. It even requires surrendering our limiting ideas of what surrendering to Jesus means. It means yielding to a surrender that will daily disrupt our lives. Past surrenders do not give you a pass from daily surrender. Surrender is similar to manna… it dissolves each day the moment our head hits the pillow. It must be summoned daily and deliberately engaged.
Joshua learned that God does not take sides but calls us to surrender to His…
