There was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel. Joshua 10:14
We don’t have to attack and subdue physical cities – which in any care aren’t walled today, military technology having changed since Joshua’s day. Paul said that “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses” 2 Cor. 10:4, and that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Eph. 6:12 We fight, we struggle, but not against physical enemies. Even when the church faces persecution from human beings, with very real guns, very real prisons, very real torturers, and very real executioners, the very real struggle isn’t against those tools of Satan, but against the spiritual wickedness which impels men to act so barbarically.
And we’re not in the fight alone. There may be no armed and armored armies beside us, and there may be no massive forces to back us up, but we’re not alone. On the contrary, the Lord fights for us.
When the king of Aram sent an army against Elisha, and surrounded the city where the prophet was, Elisha’s servant began to despair. But Elisha prayed that God would open the eyes of the servant, “and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:17 Even when we seem to be alone, the Lord is with us; God prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies, indicating that He is with us, and will protect us, so that we may rest in Him regardless of the force arrayed against us. (Ps. 23:5)
The beloved disciple wrote, “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) We are the temple – literally, the Most Holy Place – of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), and shall any power overcome the Spirit of God? God is mighty, He is almighty. He is omnipotent, with all power, and sovereign, ruling and reigning and exercising that power for the benefit of His people. “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28) Every single thing that happens to a child of God, He causes to produce good in the believer’s life. We may not see it, and we may not be able to comprehend how, but the most vicious attacks of the devil, the most barbaric actions by persecutors, the worst natural disasters, the most tragic events in life, all in God’s hands turn, whether they will or nill, to the benefit of the children of God.
God fights for His people. Does Satan come upon us to wreak spiritual havoc? God fights against him. Do men mock and scorn and even raise violent hands against Christians? God fights for His people. Do illness and death strike without warning? God takes His suffering children into a far better place. Do tornadoes and volcanoes and earthquakes, and other convulsions of nature, bring pain and death upon the church? God turns these horrors to good for His people.
There is nothing in Scripture which says that in this world we can or will be free of tears. The Israelite army under Joshua had to march, had to fight, had to take casualties. God is sovereign, but He worked by means to remove the wicked nations from the land so that His people could settle there. And in our day, in our lives, God does not protect us from the sorrows of the world. We may not be of the world, but we are still in it. But while we’re in the world, God fights for us, as He fought for Israel in Canaan. And by His mighty power, He shall prevail – there can be no doubt of it.