One of the worst days in the history of the world…

This is the day after. They saw Jesus die. How could Jesus die? Wasn’t he supposed to be the Messiah? Wasn’t he the one whom they had been waiting for all their lives to finally restore Israel to her former glory?

But it happened. They saw it. Jesus died. Jesus was buried. The body of Jesus was decomposing like all other bodies.

Was any of what Jesus promised even true? Didn’t he say that he was the Son of God? How could the Son of God die? And at the hands of the Romans.

Holy Saturday.

This was the day all the women – Mary the Mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene – sat huddled weeping at what they witnessed the day before.

Holy Saturday.

This was the day all the disciples were hidden away in a room wondering what they were supposed to do now. They had deserted their families, quit their jobs, and traveled around with a man claiming to be God’s Son…and then he died. Just like everyone else.

Holy Saturday.

This was the day that hope for all who believed in Jesus died.

Holy Saturday.

All of hell rejoiced in their “victory”. The Son of God had been vanquished. All hope had been extinguished.

Holy Saturday.

This was the day God was preparing all of eternity for the resurrection. This was the day the Son of God descended into hell to pay the debt of sin. This was the day that the Son of God stood in the place of sinners to atone for their sins.

Do you find yourself in a season where nothing makes sense? Where God seems absent? Where hope seems dead?

Just as God was at work during Holy Saturday, God is at work in your life. Trust God. God’s got this.

“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!