He Will Not Fail You!
By Shirley Mitchell
"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Psalm 73:26
Psalm 73:26 tells us that there will be times that our heart and flesh will fail us. Our hearts, the seat of our emotions and from which all living flows, may get discouraged and betray us. Our bodies will give out on us, and we won't be able to take another step on the journey of life. But God will never fail us.
In Deuteronomy 31:6-8 (KJV), Moses turns the reins of the leadership of Israel to Joshua. He tells him to "be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed." In Joshua 1 after Moses' death, God reaffirms to Joshua that He will never leave his side nor fail him. He says in verses 5-6 (KJV), "There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them."
The Hebrew transliteration for the word "fail" is raphah. It means "to sink, relax, sink down, let drop, to be disheartened, to refrain, let alone, to show oneself slack." At the end of Joshua's life, Joshua agreed that God had kept His promise to never leave him. God proved trustworthy to Joshua to not be afraid of his enemies. Joshua 23:14 says, "Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed."
1 Kings 8:56 says, "Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses." Lamentations 3:22 says, "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." Isaiah 51:6 says, "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail." Acts 5:38-39 says, "Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
We may fail. Our hearts and our flesh may fail. Glory to God, He never fails. He never falls short. He is never inferior. He never deserts us. He can't show Himself slack. He does not get disheartened. He doesn't drop us. His compassions are never insufficient. I have felt worthy of being dropped, but He never gave up on me. What a God!
My precious friend Andrea is such a godly woman through whom God has done so many amazing things. Let me tell you something that she said that made me laugh so hard. She said jokingly, "I don't think I ever want my life to be a book. I know what it would say. 'She failed. She failed again. She failed yet again, but God never failed her.' " Now, doesn't that just sum it up? Actually, she has what you and I need. She has the perseverance to keep going even if we make a mistake. We aren't called to be perfect; we are just called to love, trust, learn, and pursue.
If our activity is of human origin, there is a real possibility it will fail. However, if you and I are in the process of fulfilling our callings, we may have lessons along the way to rid us of arrogance and jealousy, to unveil future things to us, and to bring us into accordance with God's heart. Yet, the overall calling will be fulfilled. When we walk in obedience, our callings can't be thwarted by human hands. Hallelujah!
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, You are God. From ancient days You are He. No one can deliver us out of Your hand. When You act, no one can reverse it (Isaiah 43:12-13). Only You can tell us the future before it even happens. Everything You plan will come to pass, for You do whatever You wish (Isaiah 46:10 NLT). God, help us to be strong and be courageous like Joshua. Burn into our hearts and minds that You will never leave us nor forsake us and that You will not FAIL US! Hallelujah! It's in the Name above all names, in Jesus' Name, Yeshua's Name, we pray. Amen.
Excerpt from the Jesus Lives Bible study
"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Showing posts with label Joshua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joshua. Show all posts
Friday, June 5, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
All Day Fight
All Day Fight
By Shirley Mitchell
"On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel:
'O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.'
So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!"
Joshua 10:12-14
Joshua led his men in an all night march through the steepest elevation. Five Amorite kings had joined together to fight against Israel's covenant partner Gibeon. Joshua and his army responded to the Gibeonites' plea to not abandon them. His army took them by surprise, and the Lord threw them into confusion.
In the battle, he saw the stones fall on his enemy because the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites (verse 11). Yet, the battle remained intense. He swung his sword until his arms were worn out, and his sword felt glued to his hand.
Joshua was an experienced warrior. He had crossed the parted waters of the Jordan River, fought the battle of Jericho, saw the walls come down, confronted the sin of Achan, and ambushed and burned the city of AI. He knew this battle required more out of him than the others.
On that day that was like no other, Joshua prayed in faith that God would answer his prayers, make the sun stand still and the moon stop over the Valley of Aijalon until the nation avenged itself on its enemies. Maybe they needed a little more sunlight because they were on their enemy's terrain, and their enemy would know the land better than they would. God answered his prayer. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. They knew that "surely the LORD was fighting for Israel" (verse 14).
Since I finished recording Jesus Lives, this particular story in Joshua has been my life. I have seen God supernaturally intervene for the writing of this Bible study and for the videotaping. I have walked on the water and done what so many people told me was impossible. It was impossible to work an over 40 hours per week full time job and care for a husband and three daughters and write a 10-week study. It was impossible to videotape a Bible study on the budget that we had. It was impossible to videotape without the equipment, director, cameramen, and locations. It was just as impossible to get me the teacher to speak intelligently and understandable as it was to get the donkey to talk to Balaam. Despite all these impossibilities and obstacles, God accomplished the work of writing the Bible study Jesus Lives and the eleven teachings.
Yet, the battle still rages on to get the book published, video tapes edited, and both reproduced. Every now and then, someone will say to me non-chalantly from the sidelines, without really grasping the seriousness of the battle that I'm in, "All in God's timing, my dear. All in God's timing." I almost feel like they should have a cup of tea in one hand and be dressed in their Sunday finest clothes sitting on a blanket and enjoying a spring day while I am in full battle gear with aching muscles from fighting, my body covered with sweat, and attackers surrounding me from all sides. I can't imagine Joshua would have appreciated this encouragement, either, on the battlefield that day.
It brings these kinds of thoughts to my mind, "I'm swinging this sharp sword of truth for my life here. All you can say is God's timing! I know about God's timing. I know that when God answers prayers it is yes, no, and wait. I know wait is sometimes harder than no. I have experienced God's timing many times. But if you are not active in service for the kingdom or have never engaged in the battle of your life, then your encouragement is not hitting the target with me. I know the Lord has promised me this victory. God told Joshua during the march to not be afraid of them and that He had given them into his hand. I know what the outcome will be, but it is at a time like this when I'm looking for some warriors to join me on the battlefield! There is still a battle to be fought. This victory was hard and fought through blood, sweat, tears, and prayer. The victory will be great, and I'm looking for people who want to join God and me in the exhilaration of participating in a miracle! There are people depending on this victory."
Oh, precious one, are you in a battle, too? Do you need someone to join you in prayer? Let's lift each other's battles up to God, Jehovah Sabaoth, the LORD of hosts, our Warrior, and give Him room to show His great power. The enemy will cringe and fall before Him.
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, we know You answer us in Your perfect timing. We know that Your purposes prevail. Teach us, Lord, to join our brothers and sisters on the battlefield. May we engage in Your battles and experience the thrill of participating in victory with You. You never promised us the battle would be easy, but You did promise us that if we trust in You that we will be blessed beyond what we can imagine! Surely, You, LORD, were fighting for Israel that day, and You are fighting for Shirley through this, too. You are fighting our battles. So, Lord, we give You room to be You and be huge in our lives. Fight for us, Lord! Fight for us! It's in the Name of the Coming King who will defeat His foes with the sword of His mouth, in Jesus' Name, Yeshua's Name, we pray. Amen.
By Shirley Mitchell
"On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel:
'O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.'
So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!"
Joshua 10:12-14
Joshua led his men in an all night march through the steepest elevation. Five Amorite kings had joined together to fight against Israel's covenant partner Gibeon. Joshua and his army responded to the Gibeonites' plea to not abandon them. His army took them by surprise, and the Lord threw them into confusion.
In the battle, he saw the stones fall on his enemy because the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites (verse 11). Yet, the battle remained intense. He swung his sword until his arms were worn out, and his sword felt glued to his hand.
Joshua was an experienced warrior. He had crossed the parted waters of the Jordan River, fought the battle of Jericho, saw the walls come down, confronted the sin of Achan, and ambushed and burned the city of AI. He knew this battle required more out of him than the others.
On that day that was like no other, Joshua prayed in faith that God would answer his prayers, make the sun stand still and the moon stop over the Valley of Aijalon until the nation avenged itself on its enemies. Maybe they needed a little more sunlight because they were on their enemy's terrain, and their enemy would know the land better than they would. God answered his prayer. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. They knew that "surely the LORD was fighting for Israel" (verse 14).
Since I finished recording Jesus Lives, this particular story in Joshua has been my life. I have seen God supernaturally intervene for the writing of this Bible study and for the videotaping. I have walked on the water and done what so many people told me was impossible. It was impossible to work an over 40 hours per week full time job and care for a husband and three daughters and write a 10-week study. It was impossible to videotape a Bible study on the budget that we had. It was impossible to videotape without the equipment, director, cameramen, and locations. It was just as impossible to get me the teacher to speak intelligently and understandable as it was to get the donkey to talk to Balaam. Despite all these impossibilities and obstacles, God accomplished the work of writing the Bible study Jesus Lives and the eleven teachings.
Yet, the battle still rages on to get the book published, video tapes edited, and both reproduced. Every now and then, someone will say to me non-chalantly from the sidelines, without really grasping the seriousness of the battle that I'm in, "All in God's timing, my dear. All in God's timing." I almost feel like they should have a cup of tea in one hand and be dressed in their Sunday finest clothes sitting on a blanket and enjoying a spring day while I am in full battle gear with aching muscles from fighting, my body covered with sweat, and attackers surrounding me from all sides. I can't imagine Joshua would have appreciated this encouragement, either, on the battlefield that day.
It brings these kinds of thoughts to my mind, "I'm swinging this sharp sword of truth for my life here. All you can say is God's timing! I know about God's timing. I know that when God answers prayers it is yes, no, and wait. I know wait is sometimes harder than no. I have experienced God's timing many times. But if you are not active in service for the kingdom or have never engaged in the battle of your life, then your encouragement is not hitting the target with me. I know the Lord has promised me this victory. God told Joshua during the march to not be afraid of them and that He had given them into his hand. I know what the outcome will be, but it is at a time like this when I'm looking for some warriors to join me on the battlefield! There is still a battle to be fought. This victory was hard and fought through blood, sweat, tears, and prayer. The victory will be great, and I'm looking for people who want to join God and me in the exhilaration of participating in a miracle! There are people depending on this victory."
Oh, precious one, are you in a battle, too? Do you need someone to join you in prayer? Let's lift each other's battles up to God, Jehovah Sabaoth, the LORD of hosts, our Warrior, and give Him room to show His great power. The enemy will cringe and fall before Him.
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, we know You answer us in Your perfect timing. We know that Your purposes prevail. Teach us, Lord, to join our brothers and sisters on the battlefield. May we engage in Your battles and experience the thrill of participating in victory with You. You never promised us the battle would be easy, but You did promise us that if we trust in You that we will be blessed beyond what we can imagine! Surely, You, LORD, were fighting for Israel that day, and You are fighting for Shirley through this, too. You are fighting our battles. So, Lord, we give You room to be You and be huge in our lives. Fight for us, Lord! Fight for us! It's in the Name of the Coming King who will defeat His foes with the sword of His mouth, in Jesus' Name, Yeshua's Name, we pray. Amen.
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