Victory’s Battle Cry- A Study in Joshua Part 6—
Once more, God demonstrates to His people the majesty of His power and His Glory. He halts the raging river while all the people cross over the Jordan into the Promised Land. The priests were in the midst of the River with the Ark of the Covenant—a symbol of God’s presence and strength.
photo courtesy of istockphoto.com
Once everyone had safely crossed over, God tells Joshua to have one man from each tribe to go back, pick up a stone from where the priests are standing and bring it to the place they will camp that night to build a memorial shrine as a reminder of what God did for them and a reminder as of the perfect sovereignty, righteousness, justice, Mercy and grace that is God.
God had remained faithful to redeem Himself a people in spite of all their failures in the past and He is about to prove to the entire world that He is the Victory in every trial or battle of life.
Joshua 4 (NIV): When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”…6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
We tend to be such a forgetful people as well. After all that God has done to demonstrate His love and mercy to us, we forget and then we have a failure in faith with the next trial we confront. These are the things we must remember if we are to live a victorious joy filled life. We must remember God’s perfect Love, Sovereignty, Righteousness, Justice, Mercy and Grace. What are the stones we need to build that memorial to God with our lives. I hope these six steps will help you to find joy and victory in your life song.
1. Keep a journal of your Christian Journey. When I read my old journals and realize there were moments along this journey when I have felt broken, lost and confused. I would plead with God at times with a heavy, sorrow filled heart—thinking that He couldn’t really love me and I must just be a failure. Yet, I am always amazed now as to how even then He was working everything together for my good. In the midst of those moments, God always came with a comforting scripture, a glimpse of His joy, the perfect sermon, or a song that would bring me closer to Him. Now whenever a similar trial comes, I need only open my journal and I can remember how He had turned mourning into joy back then and I know without a doubt He will again.
2. Keep dates and little memos in your personal devotional Bible—reminders of His Faithfulness in the past. These serve also as memorials to God’s Unchanging Faithfulness.
3. I have a glass cross that sits on my desk. That cross has no power of its own and it is not what I worship; yet, it is a symbol that reminds me each day of the price that Christ willingly paid for me at Calvary. That reminder forces me to stop seeking after selfish desires of pleasure and makes me willing to carry whatever cross I need to in order that Christ may be Shown as Glorious through my life. It worries me that so many modern churches have forgotten the power of the cross and no longer display a cross in their pulpit for fear of offending the crowd. Without the cross of Christ, there is no hope of Glory.
4. For me it has been important that I wear a promise ring on my right hand as a reminder each moment of the day that I am promised to Christ. Whenever selfish thoughts cross my mind, hurtful words cross my lips, or I am tempted to sin; I look down at my hand and I remember that every action of mine brings either glory or shame to my beloved. Often, I am forced to stop everything and ask for His forgiveness, love and guidance so I can continue through that day.
5. I recognize that I am so very forgetful and can so easily be swayed by the lures of this world. Perhaps that is why the last thing I do before I go to sleep is to say goodnight to my heavenly Father and the first thing I do before I get out of bed is to tell Him “Good Morning”.
6. Set aside time every day to read scripture.
I do not ever want to forget the price that Christ’s love so willingly paid for my salvation and the Grace that chose to love me so. Whatever trials, temptations, or heartbreaks this world may bring; let me never forget that God is my greatest treasure and my source of true joy—therefore I am blessed beyond measure. So, let me sing that old hymn with a sincere heart Lead Me to Calvary.
New International Version (NIV)
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© 2014 Effie Darlene Barba
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