Have you ever been given instructions for a battle that seems to make no sense?
Rest assured that God has a plan, and even though it may seem not to make sense to you, God sees the beginning from the end.
Let’s use a few examples from the Bible:
One of the more well known ones: Around the walls of Jericho… The Israelite army are finally set to take the promised land. God gives Joshua the instructions to march around the city with armed men for 6 days. The priests should lead with the trumpets and the ark, and no one should speak. Then on the 7th day, they should march around the city 7 times with a long blast on the trumpets, and a loud shout. (Joshua 6).
Now imagine the faces of the people as Joshua is giving these instructions. Remember, they had waited 40 years to enter these lands, and now they had battle instructions that didn’t even make sense.
Let’s skip over to Gideon…
Gideon is found threshing wheat in a wine press (hiding from the Midianites). The angel of the Lord appears to him and said, ‘the Lord is with you, mighty warrior.’ Judges 6:12b. I’m chuckling as I’m writing this. Gideon is hiding out in the wine press because he was afraid of the Midianites who was wreaking havoc on their land, and he is being called ‘mighty warrior’ by an Angel.
You see, God knew something that Gideon did not. Gideon was made to be a mighty warrior. He was born for a time like this. In Joshua 6:14 it says, ‘The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
Note the tense that God uses.. ‘the strength you have’.. He didn’t say, ‘you WILL have’.. Gideon already was a mighty warrior, and he already had the strength that would be needed to save the Israelites.. and best of all – God was the one giving him instructions and sending him. Meanwhile, Gideon had thought of himself as the weakest of the clan, and of the smallest tribe.
Lesson.. the way we see ourselves, is not necessarily the way God sees us.
Another quick, but well known lesson…
David when he was going to fight Goliath.
David had no armor. He took 5 smooth stones and a sling to fight a giant. Now, that’s a battle plan that makes no sense.
We know what happens in these examples.
The Israelites take the promised land after the walls crash down after the loud blasts from the trumpets.
Gideon does defeat the Midianites and goes on to fight many more successful battles.
David does slay the giant and the Philistines had to run.
So… do you feel like you are in a battle with a battle plan that makes no sense to you?
Rest assured. God knows all about battle plans that make no sense to the human mind. Trust His instructions for you.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that you are indeed the mighty warrior, who is strong in battle. Help us to realize that at times you will give us instructions for waging battles that make no sense to us, but you have already seen the beginning from the end, and you are just asking us to trust your instructions for our lives.