“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee”

Joshua 1:5

This encouraging charge from the Lord to Joshua has some very profound promises, but contextually it also contains an extremely mountainous weight for him.

We need encouragement just like Joshua. And we love to hear that no spiritual enemy will be able to stand against us because God is with us. The Lord cannot fail, and He will not leave us. But we must also realize that there is a reason we need this powerful encouragement. It is because we must sometimes face our battles and giants alone.

Joshua watched and assisted Moses for over forty years. But now, Moses is dead. Joshua is in charge, and he must have the wisdom and fortitude to lead Israel into the promised land. We too, as we grow up naturally and spiritually, have leaders and mentors to guide, protect, and help us as we learn and grow. But, there are times when the battle is our own. It is at these times that we need this pep talk from the Lord.

Joshua could not rely on Moses, nor could he blame Moses if things didn’t go well. It was Joshua’s time to lead the fight. When we each face our personal struggles we must first realize that the battle is ours to fight. There are times when others may be able to help but sometimes we must face the giant alone. Moreover, we must realize that it is our personal responsibility to fight, not someone else’s. If we do not trust in the Lord, there is no one to blame but ourselves.

After we see that the responsibility is our own, we can more clearly see that, although no other human is fighting this battle with us, God is fighting the battle with us and sometimes for us! We will sometimes fail, but God does not fail. We may forsake the Lord, but He will never forsake us.

God has always blessed His people in mighty ways. And He has never changed. Therefore, He can and does bless His people in mighty ways today!

Christ the Lord has already won the eternal battle and, in His resurrection, He gave us the strength to fight the daily battles during our lives.

Fight on Brothers and Sisters! Fight on!