If you are burdened with heavy responsibilities or battles, you will find encouragement in the book of Joshua as the Lord fights for Israel. You may be in over your head, unable to match the strength of what is before you, but you have a heavenly Father who can effectively act on your behalf.
Right after the Gibeonites’ deception and Israel mistakenly entered into a peace agreement with them, five kings gathered to assault Israel by attacking the Gibeonites. This threat caused Gibeon to call out to Joshua for help. Even though Joshua had been deceived into the treaty with them, Joshua held up his end of the agreement. He gathered the army and went to fight.
God tells Joshua not to fear, for he would hand the five kings over to Israel, and not a man of the enemy would stand. As Israel engages in battle, God does three things to defeat the enemy.
First, he throws them into a great panic (Joshua 10:10). This is one of my favorite things God does to the enemies of his people. He confuses their ranks, and they begin to devour each other. He makes them unable to organize and work efficiently. Scripture says vengeance is mine, says the Lord. He will repay. Whether your adversary is human or spiritual, God can make them ineffective.
The second thing he did was to cause great hailstones to fall on the enemy and kill them. He did this as they fled, and more men died from the hail than the sons of Israel killed with the sword (Joshua 10:11). Without any effort on our part, God can cause nature itself to work against the enemy of the people of God as they seek to do his will. Illness, drought, fire, or any element of nature are at his disposal.
The final thing he did was he caused the sun and moon to stand still. This lengthening of the day gave Israel the time to complete the job. Not only can God use nature to hinder the enemy, but he can also use nature to support the godly. He can give us the time, energy, and health needed to complete the work he has called us to do.
The same God who purchased us with his blood on the cross can fight our battles for us. We have no reason to be afraid. Even when he does not do these things, we can trust that he is working an even greater victory in our lives, for all things work together for the good of those who love him. Take heart battle-worn child of God, your Father fights for you.
-D. Eaton
The Fight of Faith 