Saturday, April 8, 2017

Day 114: Victory in Death

Day 114
Joshua 4-6; Mark 16

There have been low points in each of our lives that caused us to think that all of our hopes, dreams, plans, were lost. I know I have faced those times of uncertainty and wondered what in the world God was doing in those moments. However, after I got through those times and saw the plan that God was carrying out, I grew leaps and bounds in my faith, and discovered that nothing in this world can touch the One thing that matters most to me.

The first thing that was commanded of Joshua when the people got across the Jordan River was to build a monument in remembrance of how God had delivered them to the Promised Land. I'm not sure the kind of hope Joshua carried with him in those early weeks of leading the people without Moses, but I can imagine he was a little on edge about it. When we think about the places God has brought us and the impossible things He has done in our hard situations, we can breathe a little easier the next time if we remember His power and victory in our lives.

As the people faced battling the walls of Jericho, I'm sure the plan sounded a bit ludicrous to them. Yet the people on the other side of the walls were fearful, as they had heard what the Lord had done for these people and figured that He would destroy them. Rahab and her family were the only safe ones, and they did good to obey God's will.

Is there a struggle in your life right now that you need to march around? Know that God is with you, providing for you every step of the way. He did this for the people as they entered into the Promised Land, providing food, land, victory and so much more. The key was for the people to remember that victory God had given them and use it to obey Him and remember it next time they faced a struggle. So many times we neglect to remember the victories God has handed us and fall away the next time a problem comes. We have received the best victory there is, as we read about in Mark today.

I find it intriguing that the first eyewitnesses of Jesus' resurrection were women, who weren't trusted in their testimony in that time and weren't even allowed to give it. Yet God used them to share the Good News of Jesus' resurrection. The disciples didn't even believe them or even two of His other followers, until He actually appeared before them. They were at such a loss that they had lost the hope of their Savior, so they thought. The problem was that their world vision is not like the heavenly vision, so they couldn't believe the miracle at first. How would your situation look different if you viewed it from God's point of view, rather than your own?

God's form of victory isn't the way we view victory. We cling to the things of this world - the status, the stuff, the relationships, etc. But true and eternal victory comes from trusting in God alone. When we face a time in our lives that is seemingly hopeless, we need to remember the only true Hope we have in Christ, as He will deliver us in ways that are beyond our comprehension. There is true victory in death. The death of OUR dreams, our hopes, our wants, our desires. Victory came on a cross over 2000 years ago. If God is for us, no one can stand against us.

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