FEAR THEM NOT
Joshua 10:8 And the Lord said unto Joshua, fear them not: for I have delivered them into your hand; there shall not a man of them stand before you.
Israel was obeying God and Joshua was leading them to take the Promised Land, just like God had said. They had won some great battles, Jericho, and Ai. The enemies of Israel were nervous and were gathering together against Israel in Gibeon to destroy them. This is when our verse happened. God told Joshua not to be afraid of them. Ten kings, with 10 armies, gathered against this city that Israel had taken. The odds looked bad; and, once again, the Lord starts talking to Joshua about fear. From the very beginning, God warned Joshua, and, therefore, is warning us what fear really is. Where there is fear, there is no faith. We cannot have fear, not even a little. Everybody deals with fear. And, I know, the devil would like us to believe that fear is inevitable; however, that is not the case for believers. God says He has not given us a spirit of fear. God says perfect love, which is His love, will cast out all fear. Whenever the enemy comes, the first thing he tries to do is get us in fear. Fear caused Peter to sink, even though he was walking, by faith, on the water. Fear is an enemy, and we must make sure not to just deal with it, but to not let it in any part of our life.
Staying out of fear was Joshua’s part, and it is our part as well. God was about to deliver Gibeon in an extraordinary fashion. That God is your Father, and I know He wants to do great things for you and me. The promise from God in this battle was that God had delivered them into Joshua’s hand, and no one would be able to stand before or against Joshua and all of Israel. Joshua and the army came against these 10 kings and their armies at night and the surprise attack sent them on the run.
The Lord has strategies for you and me in every battle we are in. We don’t have to be afraid. God has given us the victory. What happened next in the battle of Gibeon was incredible. As the 10 armies were being chased, suddenly, a great hailstorm came, and the Bible says more were killed by the hail stones than by the swords of the Israelites. Wow! Then, something happened that literally changed time. Joshua commanded the sun and the moon to stand still. Joshua 10:14 says, “And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.” Faith begins where the will of God is known, so God had to inspire Joshua to do that; but what is so interesting is, God answered the voice of a man.
Do you have a voice? Do you know the will of God? Do you have a Word from the Lord? The Lord is waiting on you to say something, so He can give you a great victory. No fear. Lift up your voice and let God give you a great victory!