Joshua 11:6 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them…
This morning I asked some of the people here at the Ranch how many of them had played basketball for a Christian school. Some had. Then I asked, “Who was your tallest opponent playing Christian school basketball?” To my surprise, one of my neighbors said there was a guy who was seven feet tall! That is impressive no matter where you went to school!
Imagine you were playing basketball against a seven-footer. What are the chances that you would succeed? Then think about the giants that Israel faced in the land of Canaan. Think about Goliath. Where was Goliath from? Well, he is called Goliath of Gath. Joshua 11:22 says, “There was none of the Anakims [the giants] left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.” These were Philistine cities. And, notice the Bible calls it the “land of the children of Israel.” It has gone from “the land of the Canaanites” to “the land of the children of Israel.” This was part of God’s promise and part of God’s provision for Israel. In other words, God had given Israel victory over giants.
Now this is a chapter of God’s protecting Israel against really big odds. In fact, the chapter begins with a king named Jabin, who gathered together a host against Israel. Every day, you have challenges and giants. Maybe you face a giant that is bigger, stronger, and taller than you, or an enemy that is multiplied like the sands of the sea, which is exactly what happened when these kings gathered against Israel. So it may be a large group or a large man, but whatever the case may be, you may have some fear regarding your future.
Now, you have one of two choices. You can either live by the fear of what you do not know or you can live by the faith of what God has done for you in the past. In Joshua 11:6 the Lord said to Joshua, “Be not afraid because of them.” Was there a reason to fear? Of course! There was a great army and many giants to conquer. But God goes on to say, “I will deliver.” He did.
There may well be a reason to worry, but there is always a reason to trust God. Whatever is ahead of you in the unknown, frame your day by the greatness of your God and not by the size of your enemy. The Bible ends this chapter by saying, “And the land rested from war.” Your problems today will very possibly be great, but your God is greater. Which of the two you focus on will determine how you live this day.