Victory Despite The Odds

Joshua 11:1-6 - When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Acshaph,  and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Kinnereth, in the western foothills and in Naphoth Dor on the west;  to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites below Hermon in the region of Mizpah.  They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots--a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.  All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.  The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel, slain. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots."

 

Joshua was looking at more than 20 armies…and that is a low estimate. The odds of his few men winning a battle against the combined force of 20 huge armies were not in his favor. So God just gave him a gentle reminder…that he did not need even odds to provide victory for him that day. He even gave him a timeline…to know that this was not going to be a long drawn out battle.  This battle had already been claimed by God…and all Joshua had to do was fight it …destroy every person from the other armies…and  destroy all the horses and chariots they rode on.

 

It is just like God to let me oversleep today…just to see if I will claim the same promise. So I sit at almost 7….listening to him give me the words I need to finish a task that I promised I would always try and complete first thing in the morning. And I am finding that even in this small task...I can have victory against the odds…because I usually get up at 5 to start my day with God.

 

We can be victorious over everything that God gives us to do…despite the odds. Just like that day he fed the 5,000 men with a few fish and loaves of bread…recorded in Matthew 9:35-38 and Mark 6:30-44…which was probably in reality was over 10,000 when you factor in the women and children that were not counted. All Jesus did was ask his father to bless it…and did he ever bless it. There are so many examples of God showing off despite the earthly odds …like sweet 90 year old Sarah in Genesis 21 …who gave birth to her first child despite her human years. God is a God who can do anything …that he has ordered us to do.  He will equip us with whatever we need…we just have to walk out on faith….and allow his vision to give us strength and power.

 

Father….you are so amazing…and I thank you for the extra hour of sleep…and the lesson you have taught me today.  Thank you for Joshua…who showed his faith in you and recorded this amazing victory for me…to remind me that in all things I can be more than a conqueror…just like it says in Romans 8:37….because… “ in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Help me to rest in that love this day…and use it to complete everything that I think will be hard. Amen.