Is God on our side – or are we called to be on God’s side?
This distinction is critically important so that our faith is not shipwrecked when life does not turn out the way we think it should. And, eventually, we will encounter situations in our life where things are not going as planned or hoped.
And it happened, when Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up, and he saw a man standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said, “Are you with us, or with our adversaries?” And he said, “Neither. I have come now as the commander of Yahweh’s army.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and he bowed down and said to him, “What is my lord commanding his servant?”The commander of Yahweh’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.Joshua 5:13-15 (LEB)
When Joshua encountered the commander of Yahweh’s army as Israel entered the Promised Land, Joshua asked whether this man with a sword was on Israel’s side or on the side of their enemies.
“Neither. I have come now as the commander of Yahweh’s army,” was the reply.
This is a critical lesson that we must heed. Blindly thinking that God is on our side typically leads to beliefs that God somehow owes us a certain outcome – much like a genie in a bottle. This belief system will likely shipwreck your faith when a crisis inevitably comes.
I came across this text while reading through Joshua recently and decided to make a video about this important topic.