It Takes A While

Joshua 11:18 "Joshua made war a long time with all these kings."

We like to think of God moving quickly when we are in need. In fact, even when we read passages like the conquest of Canaan we are left with the feeling that God just swept in and in a couple of days all the enemies were toast. Not so.

That's why it's interesting to read Joshua 11:18. Just so we don't think that it happened overnight, God tells us that Joshua fought "a long time." That meant many days fighting on the battlefield and many nights sleeping on the ground. It meant many times when he had to rely on God just to survive and many times when he saw God come through in the pinch.

God does the same with us. We get very impatient, especially when He's given us the promise that He will be victorious on our behalf. We want answers now and we don't want to have fight anything or anyone to get it. But the flesh, the world, and the enemy stand in our way and they are not easily defeated.

We too must spend many days in the battle, and many nights away from comfort. The process of changing a life into the image of God takes time. Victory takes time. Let God take the time He needs in you to win the battle on your behalf because it is just as much about changing you through the battle than winning the battle for you.

God is patient, the victory is ours in Christ Jesus. We need to be patient too.

Pastor Tom