Strength to Overcome

^{Joshua 17:12} Manasseh was not able to defeat those cities, so the Canaanites continued to live there. ¹³ When the Israelites grew strong, they forced the Canaanites to work for them, although they did not force them to leave the land.

¹⁴ The people from the tribes of Joseph said to Joshua, “You gave us only one area of land, but we are many people. Why did you give us only one part of all the land the Lord gave his people?”

¹⁵ And Joshua answered them, “If you have too many people, go up to the forest and make a place for yourselves to live there in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaites. The mountain country of Ephraim is too small for you.”

¹⁶ The people of Joseph said, “It is true. The mountain country of Ephraim is not enough for us, but the land where the Canaanites live is dangerous. They are skilled fighters. They have powerful weapons in Beth Shan and all the small towns in that area, and they are also in the Valley of Jezreel.”

¹⁷ Then Joshua said to the people of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh, “There are many of you, and you have great power. You should be given more than one share of land. ¹⁸ You also will have the mountain country. It is a forest, but you can cut down the trees and make it a good place to live. You will own all of it because you will force the Canaanites to leave the land even though they have powerful weapons and are strong.” (NCV)

I never ceased to be impressed at the number of people who are sharing daily devotional thoughts online. Even if absolutely no one is reading, it provides a discipline in their life that offers much spiritual benefit. I know that after years of trying different daily reading programs, preparing these readings has helped me develop a regular study plan, and has taught me so much. Also, there are just enough regular readers that I am kept accountable. Furthermore, the potential for someone to land on something I’ve written or reblogged here, and have that article change their life, is huge.

Sometimes I’ll use keywords in a Google Blog Search to try to find what someone is saying on a particular topic or Bible reference, but other times, I’ll be using Google (or Yahoo) Image Search to find a picture or graphic which complements an article. That’s how I landed on Devotions By Chris, though I never did find the picture. This appeared on the blog a few days ago under the title Strong Enough to Overcome.  Please give Chris Hendrix — and the other various writers we use here — some encouragement by clicking the titles to read articles at source.

I’ve been reading in the book of Joshua about the land allotment given to each tribe of Israel. You know the part where, like the genealogy sections, we typically skip over. I saw something interesting in Joshua 17:12-13. It says,

“The people of Manasseh never were able to take over these towns – the Canaanites wouldn’t budge. But later, when the Israelites got stronger, they put the Canaanites to forced labor. But they never did get rid of them.”

They couldn’t get rid of a few people in a few towns even after all the great conquests in the Promised Land.

As I read this, I began to think of the sins that I have in my life. You know the type. They’re the ones that no matter what I do, I can’t seem to beat. No matter how hard I try, I still succumb to their temptation every time. I’ve done fasting and prayer to get strong enough to beat them out of my life, but they still keep showing up. I’ll see something in the day that starts the process. My thoughts begin to dwell on the things that will eventually lead to the sin and sooner or later I fall. Sound familiar?

Near the last part of that verse, it says that they forced the Canaanites into forced labor when they became strong enough. When I read that, I thought of II Corinthians 10:5 that says,

“We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

It’s our thoughts that keep the temptation alive in our heads that walk us down the road to sin. I’m not strong enough to drive out those thoughts and so I end up sinning. But here, Paul says we have divine power to demolish the strongholds in our lives.

There is a power beyond ourselves, in Christ, that can give us the power to take those thoughts captive and as the book of Joshua says, “put them into forced labor.” When we try to combat these thoughts in our own strength, there isn’t enough power. Those thoughts seem to be fortified against whatever we throw at it. They’re like the Canaanites in Joshua 17:16. The people of Joseph complained that they didn’t have enough land because the Canaanites had iron chariots and couldn’t be moved.

Joshua didn’t care about the iron chariots. He wasn’t looking at this as a physical struggle, but a spiritual one. He spoke into the tribe what they were that they couldn’t see. He saw what God sees when He looks at us. In verses 17-18 he told them, “you are very powerful” and even tough the Canaanites had iron chariots and were strong too, “you can drive them out.” He spoke into their lives and called out in them what God had put in them. He reminded them of their past victories and current realities.

You may see yourself like these two tribes. You’ve forgotten all that God has forgiven and delivered you from. You have strongholds in your life that you’ve allowed to remain because you haven’t seen yourself as strong enough to beat them. You’ve allowed them to shame you and to accept them in your mind. I’m telling you today that you are strong enough to overcome. You are powerful through the Holy Spirit that God has placed in you. If He has forgiven you and given you deliverance from other sins, He can give you the strength to beat the ones you’re struggling with today. Though they seem fortified with iron, God’s Word is more powerful and it is alive in you today. Bring those thoughts into captivity and drive them out of your mind’s landscape. You are very strong.

Today’s two-for-one special: The theme of Spiritual Warfare appears here very frequently. For past articles, click this link, scroll down the page and select another article to supplement today’s reading.