I have to give a shout out to my husband for helping me write this one. He gave me the story at the beginning of this post and edited some of the rough spots in my writing. I'm so blessed to have this man in my life and am grateful for all he does for me...
It’s a Thursday morning and to most people this day will begin and end without any pomp or circumstance. Most people are currently taking their children to school, arriving early to work, dragging themselves out of bed etc. But the Pastors of Stephenville, TX have arrived early for the National Day of Prayer. This year, it is Grace Fellowship Church’s (our church) job to open the National Day of Prayer, in prayer, and introduce the Mayor of Stephenville. Something is different about today. On most National DOPs, a city official will nervously step out on the front steps of the county courthouse and declare the start to the National DOP. This day is different because God will win a major victory today, in my city, and I will be there to witness it! At this point, I do not know that the Mayor has been up for several nights, before the Lord, asking for the words He would like to give to His people. His nerves or sleep deprivation would be imperceptible to the untrained eye. He carries himself as true political figure. He meets and greets all of the important member of the city, while taking time to talk with the average joes like my husband and me. My husband opens up the ceremony in his casual style, and invites the President of the Ministerial Alliance to introduce our Mayor. This is it. Although I am unaware, this is the moment that would break the back of darkness in our city. What ensued out of the mouth of our Mayor could be described in many different ways, but never duplicated. It became perfectly clear that God had placed a man in this position that cared more for Jesus than he did for anything else. He was a man asking the believers of this community to unite for the common good of spreading the fame of Jesus and bringing love to those who were in the greatest need of it. I watched as our Mayor was moved to tears over what he felt to be the words of God for our community. The year to follow would demonstrate the unity that was forged that day - the relationship between the believers in this community and the government of this city. It would testify that we could see a greater level of unity. In this moment, I was watching God bring about a corporate victory for His people in Stephenville. I am honored and humbled to have witnessed something that felt like it came straight out of the book of Joshua.
Joshua 12 holds a description of the Jews’ new territory, the 31 kings who were defeated by Joshua and the 3 by Moses. To us it looks like a bunch of names we can’t pronounce and people we never knew. But to the Jews, it was a personal and corporate victory that was to be remembered. While it is not something we experienced personally or in our lifetime for that matter, it is something that impacted a nation and their children’s children. Something that was so impactful that God had someone record this victory to be seen in the Bible by millions of people.
A similar, yet practical, case is the land my husband and I partially own. Looking out over our land is exciting! It’s amazing to look across it, walk the boundaries, explore the space in between, and reminisce on all that has been done by the grace of God. Everywhere we look is a memory of how God brought us to this place and the promise it holds. I’m fairly positive that’s how Israel felt about their new territory – excited, proud, humbled, and grateful. However personal Joshua 12 may seem to Israel, it is more about the nationwide victory. Jesus wants to highlight what is important to him through Joshua and for everyone to remember this public proclamation of victory over darkness.
Through the study of Joshua, we felt like God also wanted to highlight similar victories in our own lives. A recent example is the story at the beginning of this post when the Mayor of our home town (a town of about 25,000 people, including the college) stood up in front of the courthouse on the National Day of Prayer and welcomed God’s presence in this city and prayed for all the people in and around it to come to know Him. Another victory would be the establishment and existence of churches in the community. We have churches that have existed for 20+ years with leaders that interact with the community on a daily basis, either in the secondary jobs or their personal relationships. Or how about when hundreds of students and teachers show up at “See Ya At the Pole”? Or on a bigger scale, politicians who make laws in response to other laws that protect preachers’ right to practice what they believe. And lastly, when chain companies refuse to bend to public opinion about when they should be open or what organizations they support.
Those are just a few of MANY public victories around us. I encourage you to ask God to reveal to you, first, some personal victories through him, and second, public victories over darkness you’ve witnessed. It’s exciting to see God take new territory and to be part of it. Whether you had an active role or passive role in the victory, it is still amazing to be part of something bigger. And it’s also good encouragement to continue on in God’s quest to take dominion over darkness.
Joshua 12 holds a description of the Jews’ new territory, the 31 kings who were defeated by Joshua and the 3 by Moses. To us it looks like a bunch of names we can’t pronounce and people we never knew. But to the Jews, it was a personal and corporate victory that was to be remembered. While it is not something we experienced personally or in our lifetime for that matter, it is something that impacted a nation and their children’s children. Something that was so impactful that God had someone record this victory to be seen in the Bible by millions of people.
A similar, yet practical, case is the land my husband and I partially own. Looking out over our land is exciting! It’s amazing to look across it, walk the boundaries, explore the space in between, and reminisce on all that has been done by the grace of God. Everywhere we look is a memory of how God brought us to this place and the promise it holds. I’m fairly positive that’s how Israel felt about their new territory – excited, proud, humbled, and grateful. However personal Joshua 12 may seem to Israel, it is more about the nationwide victory. Jesus wants to highlight what is important to him through Joshua and for everyone to remember this public proclamation of victory over darkness.
Through the study of Joshua, we felt like God also wanted to highlight similar victories in our own lives. A recent example is the story at the beginning of this post when the Mayor of our home town (a town of about 25,000 people, including the college) stood up in front of the courthouse on the National Day of Prayer and welcomed God’s presence in this city and prayed for all the people in and around it to come to know Him. Another victory would be the establishment and existence of churches in the community. We have churches that have existed for 20+ years with leaders that interact with the community on a daily basis, either in the secondary jobs or their personal relationships. Or how about when hundreds of students and teachers show up at “See Ya At the Pole”? Or on a bigger scale, politicians who make laws in response to other laws that protect preachers’ right to practice what they believe. And lastly, when chain companies refuse to bend to public opinion about when they should be open or what organizations they support.
Those are just a few of MANY public victories around us. I encourage you to ask God to reveal to you, first, some personal victories through him, and second, public victories over darkness you’ve witnessed. It’s exciting to see God take new territory and to be part of it. Whether you had an active role or passive role in the victory, it is still amazing to be part of something bigger. And it’s also good encouragement to continue on in God’s quest to take dominion over darkness.
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