“And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel” (Joshua 17:16).
TEXT — Joshua 17:8-18
Message
Late Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear”.
Our text deals with the allotment of the inheritance in the Promised Land to Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph. Due to their complaints that one lot was too small for “a great people”, Joshua directed them to “cut down” wood and possess the land for themselves. However, they again complained that the people of the territory had chariots of iron.
God’s directive to Israel was very clear. They were to go in and possess the land for their inheritance. They must make no covenant with the inhabitants but utterly destroy them and their idols. God assured them He would fight for them; but fear paralysed the tribe of Joseph and made them unable to possess their inheritance.
Fear disables its victims and makes them powerless. Fear makes believers unable to fight “the good fight of faith” in the face of adversity. Just as Apostle Paul told Timothy, God has not given us the spirit of fear but that of power, love and of a sound mind. The size of the enemy is not what matters, otherwise David would not have defeated Goliath. What matters is our faith in our all-conquering God and the courage to dare to take Him at His word. Notwithstanding the intimidation, harassment and assaults from the enemy, the believer in Christ must remember that in Him, he is “more than a conqueror” and that “the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits”. It is courage that gives the victory over every physical and spiritual battle.
Thought for the day
It takes sheer courage through God to overcome life challenges.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
