Being Able to Stand Against Enemies
As we have said, enemies are a part of life. We all have enemies. We need God's wisdom and power to stand against our enemies, so they do not harm us or overcome us. Our enemies are the world, the flesh, and the devil. We need God's help against all three. However, God won't help us, if we are disobeying His commands in our life. God makes His will plain for us, and He warns us about the consequences of breaking His will. Then, if we do it, He withdraws His presence from us, and we have to fight the enemies in our own strength, which means we will fail. That happened to Israel when they sent a small army against the small city of Ai. God did not fight for them, because someone had secretly taken some of the items that God said to set aside for Him. (Joshua 7:13) The army was routed by the men of Ai. They killed about 36 of the Israelite soldiers, too. Therefore, God told all the people to consecrate themselves, because God was coming in the morning. He made sure they knew that they could not stand before their enemies, until they obeyed His commands. The same is true for us today.
How many times do we act selfishly, and do what we want to do regardless of what God has said? When we do, God is very angry. He is Lord of all. If we say that He is our Lord, we need to be His servants and obey all He says. If we fail to do that, we will live in defeat all the time. We will not have the abundant life, and we will not stand a chance against our enemies. When the world or the flesh tempts us to sin, God will not give us victory because of our sin. If we go against Satan, He will defeat us easily. This is why so many Christians live in defeat. We must take stock of our life. Whenever we see disobedience in any area, we must confess our sin, so we can be restored in our relationship with God. Then, we can be sure that God will be with us and fight for us. I pray we will all practice these things each day, so we can live in victory every day.
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Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 8-10.