God commanded Joshua several times, “Be strong and very courageous" (Joshua 1:7-9). Taking the promised land was no lottery ticket prize but required strength of spirit and resolve to live by faith and not by sight. The battles the Israelites would face across the Jordan were not trivial, but threatened to undo them unless their eyes were fixed on God and his good promise that they would possess the land.
Living by faith today in a hostile, post-Christian era is no less demanding. We don’t face the literal spear and javelin of the opposing army, but we encounter the same enemy who “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). He places obstacles across our paths, sends mockers and scoffers to discourage and assault us with weapons of despair and fear as we, often with trembling legs, make our way to the promised land.
As the pressure of the opposition increases, we are often tempted like the Israelites were to doubt God’s Word and His ability to intervene on our behalf. Once fear has gripped us, our hearts are assailed by other doubts until we become convinced that God’s power was relegated to history and that what we’ve been declaring as faith is really presumption in disguise. We wonder if we’ve been fools to believe that this invisible God will part our Red Sea when the last one He parted was thousands of years ago. And as we stumble through this valley of doubt, the world, the flesh and the devil in unison make their proclamation regarding our faith, calling it archaic history and blind hope.
Before we know it, the faith we once cherished comes unraveled like a loosely woven garment, and we find ourselves naked and exposed. We begin doubting previous deliverances and answers to prayers – writing them off as mere coincidence or taking credit for them ourselves. Realizing our vulnerability and need for some sort of cover we grab garments of self-will as we muster up all that’s within to continue along this journey. Though we may not even realize it at this point, a major paradigm shift has occurred as we’ve taken our eyes off of God and put our hope in reason, logic, hard work or intuition. Like the Israelites, we've trusted in the strong arm of the flesh or looked to others who are stronger to help in our time of need (Jeremiah 17:5-6).
As we daily make our way through each ensuing battle we no longer rely on courage to trust God – He’s become a trinket we carry along with us as a last resort or good luck charm (Isaiah 30:15-17). We convince ourselves that in order to survive in this world we have to rely on internal and worldly wisdom and strength. We commend ourselves for our successes, making certain that others see and recognize them as well. Before long, we forget about God completely as we mindlessly toss him aside for the spoils that we’ve picked up along the way.
But the day usually comes when we encounter people who look a lot like we used to with their eyes fixed on Jesus – His kingdom and His promises. Inwardly we laugh as we recall walking the same naïve path of faith and hope. We feel pity for their lack of true wisdom and understanding until we see the light and life in their eyes -- the hope that upholds them and the faith which enables them to face the unknown, not with a sense of dread, but with joy. And then we remember, as if waking from a dream, what it was like when we lived the same way – trusting Christ for everything and allowing him to lead us, provide for us and give us wisdom.
We rub our eyes and try to forget, because remembering means we’ve been wrong and we have to change. It’s not easy going it alone, but it’s at least predictable we tell ourselves. Quickly we begin reminding ourselves of recent victories, trying to assure our restless heart that we’ve indeed chosen the only path of true success. And though outwardly we appear godly and victorious to others on the journey, deep within a knot swells and a longing tugs mercilessly at our hearts. As much as we try, we can’t forget the days when we walked humbly with God in dependence and trust -- when faith was all we had and God was our only hope. But, like the rich young ruler we keep going the other way – sad, but determined. Because living in our own strength for our own glory has become our god.
