Good morning church family,
I came across a wonderful illustration in a book by Lysa Terkeurst. She was talking about Joshua having to go up against the city of Jericho. Here is the verse:
“Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.” Joshua 5:13-15
What Lysa pointed out is that the man said “neither”. Surely he would have been on Joshua’s side but here is the thing, she said we have been living our whole lives expecting God to take sides in our relationships with others instead of figuring out that the reason the man said neither was because the side we are supposed to be on is God’s side not the other way around. That is quite a profound revelation I think.
In any conflict we should instead ask ourselves how should I act if I’m on God’s side. I don’t know about you but that changes everything for me.
Blessings
Laurie
Rimutaka Baptist Church 