Doing Your Part

“Do not be afraid of them; the LORD your God himself will fight for you” (Deuteronomy 3:22).

Great! I can just sit back and keep scrolling on my phone while God does all the work! Sign me up!!!

Only if it worked that way.

So what is God saying?

The context of this passage is that Moses is going to die. God has chosen Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. Moses reminds Joshua of all the ways God has led them thus far. Joshua, himself, has seen how God has sustained them through the 40 years in the wilderness.

As the mantle of leadership passes from Moses to Joshua, Moses tells Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; the LORD your God himself will fight for you.”

We learn two important spiritual truths:

First, the victory belongs to the LORD. It is God who leads. It is God who guides.

AND Joshua must lead the Israelites into battle and the Israelites must fight as if their lives depended on it…because it does.

When it comes to spiritual victories God will certainly lead us and guide us. But we still need to train. We still need to pray, study God’s word, worship, serve, give. We still need to do all the things that God has given us to grow in the faith. Faith growing and spiritual maturity will not happen as we sit on our butts. God will do it, but we must do our part.

That’s the partnership of spiritual maturity.

Now get busy doing your part!