A man was standing in the water when he asked a friend on the shore, “Are there any alligators in this river?”
The man on shore said, “No, not a single one,” but his friend in the water was not convinced. So the man in the water asked again, “Are you sure there are no alligators? Because if there are no alligators, what are those gray forms I see?”
The man on the shore said, “Don’t worry. There are no alligators in the water. Those gray forms are just the sharks that have chased the alligators away.” (Bible Illustrator #999-1000, 2/1987.21)
Life is like that sometimes. You get rid of one problem when another takes it place. It’s like you’ve traded alligators for sharks.
And you wonder: Will I ever get any rest from the struggle? Will I ever gain complete victory over the enemy in my life? Will I ever find any peace? Well, the good news is yes! You can get rest from the struggle. And if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Joshua 11, Joshua 11, where we see how Joshua finally got rest for his people in their conquest of the Promised Land.
Joshua 11:1-5 When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and in Naphoth-dor on the west, to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. (ESV)
When the kings in the north heard that Joshua had completely conquered all the kings in the south, they gathered their armies together to fight against Israel. Verse 4 describes those armies as “a great horde,” which Josephus, a 1st Century historian, detailed as 300,000 foot-soldiers, 10,000 cavalry-men, and 20,000 chariot riders.
This was a vast army with the latest in military technology at the time. Military strategists estimate that a solder on horseback is worth dozens of foot soldiers on the ground. Joshua has just traded alligators for sharks, the armies of the south for the armies of the north, and their gray forms are lurking on the horizon. That’s when God shows up as He usually does when the problems seem overwhelming.
Joshua 11:6-7 And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” So Joshua and all his warriors came suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. (ESV)
With God’s assurance ringing in his ears, Joshua did not wait for the enemy to come to him. He went after the enemy, who was camped by the waters of Merom, a few miles northwest of the Sea of Galilee. It was a 5-day journey, but Joshua made the journey and attacked right away!
Joshua 11:8-9 And the LORD gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining. And Joshua did to them just as the LORD said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire. (ESV)
Joshua killed every enemy soldier. He crippled their horses and burned their chariots just like God had asked him to do.
However, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Joshua could have used those horses and chariots in future battles to great advantage. Why would God ask Him to make them useless? It’s because God wants His people to depend on Him, not on horses and chariots, not on the latest technologies, and not on their own devices and schemes.
400 years later, King David is going to proclaim, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). And 300 years after that, the prophet Isaiah will warn God’s wayward people, “Woe to those who… rely on horses, who trust in chariots… but do not look to the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 31:1).
God wants His people to look to Him when they’re in trouble. That’s what He asked Joshua to do, and that’s what He asks you to do, as well. If you want to find rest from the struggle in your own life, don’t trust your own devices. Instead…
TRUST THE LORD.
Depend on His power, and rely on His promises to you just like Joshua did.
Just a few years ago (2015), Ken Wilson wrote a book on the history of missions, in which he recounts the story of a church in Afghanistan based on eyewitness accounts. He says:
In 1971, the Afghan government gave a fledgling band of Christians permission to plant a church in Kabul. It was the only Christian church building permitted on neutral soil in Afghanistan. The Afghan government permitted this place of worship only for use among the foreign community; it was never to be used by the Afghan people.
One Sunday morning, only three years after the sanctuary's dedication, soldiers arrived and began to hack away at the wall between the street and the church building. One gentleman in the congregation went to Kabul's mayor and prophetically warned, “If your government touches that house of God, God will overthrow your government!” The mayor responded by ordering the congregation to turn over their church for destruction, thereby eliminating the need for the Afghan government to pay compensation.
“This building does not belong to us but to God,” the people of the church replied. “We can't turn it over for destruction.” And they proceeded to serve tea and cookies to the soldiers who were destroying their place of worship.
On Tuesday, July 17, 1973, the Afghan soldiers completed their destruction of the church building. That very night, King Mohammed Zahir Shah, who had ruled for forty years, was overthrown in a coup, and the 227-year-old monarchy in Afghanistan came to an end forever. (Ken Wilson, Where No One Has Heard, William Carey Library Publishers, 2015, Introduction; www.PreachingToday.com)
Wow! What faith! That church did not take up arms or resort to their own schemes to fight the soldiers that were destroying their church. No! They showed them Christ’s love by serving them tea and cookies! Furthermore, the church did not seek to overthrow the government through open protests or political maneuvering. No! They simply trusted God to overcome their enemies, and God did it!
Now, I wish God would always work that fast to bring justice, but you can be sure. The Judge of all the earth WILL do what’s right. He WILL defeat the enemies of His people in His time.
After all, think about the cross. It seemed like Satan had won when they nailed Jesus to that cross, and it seemed like the greatest injustice ever done to an innocent man, but God used the cross to punish your sin and mine, so He could justly save all who put their trust in Him. Furthermore, the cross dealt the fatal blow to Satan himself, for it was there that Jesus rendered Satan powerless (Hebrews 2:14). So no matter how much evil seems to prevail, trust the Lord to make it right.
I like the way James Russell Lowell put it in an old hymn:
Though the cause of evil prosper,
Yet 'tis truth alone is strong.
Though her portion be the scaffold,
And upon the throne be wrong,
Yet that scaffold sways the future,
And behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow,
Keeping watch above His own
(James Russell Lowell, 4th verse of the hymn Once to Every Man and Nation)
So trust Him, because His Word never fails. Don’t trust in your own schemes, because when you do there is no rest from the struggle against evil. That’s because you’re worried about being smart enough or strong enough to defeat the enemy.
But when you put your trust in the Lord like Joshua did, when you depend on HIS power and rely on HIS promises, you don’t have to worry anymore. Instead, you can rest in the assurance that God will fight for you! So if you want to find rest from the struggle in your own life, just trust the Lord. Then…
OBEY THE LORD.
Do what He tells you to do in His Word. Submit to God in everything. That’s what Joshua did.
Joshua 11:10 And Joshua turned back at that time and captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms. (ESV)
It was the capital city.
Joshua 11:11-15 And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction; there was none left that breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. And all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua captured, and struck them with the edge of the sword, devoting them to destruction, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded. But none of the cities that stood on mounds did Israel burn, except Hazor alone; that Joshua burned. And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the people of Israel took for their plunder. But every person they struck with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed. Just as the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses. (ESV)
After defeating the armies of the north, Joshua takes their cities, doing EVERYTHING the Lord said to do. As the text says: He left nothing undone of ALL that the Lord had commanded!
Joshua obeyed the Lord, and that’s what you must do if you want to find rest from the struggle in you own life. As you depend on Him, do EVERYTHING He tells you to do. Leave nothing undone of ALL that God has commanded you.
The problem is many people treat God’s commands like a buffet. They take what they like and leave the rest. They like God’s command to “love your neighbor” (Matthew 22:39), but they ignore the one that says, “Flee sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18). They like God’s command to do to others what you wish they would do to you (Matthew 7:12), but they ignore the one that says, “Sell all that you have and give to the poor” (Mark 10:21). They like Jesus’ command, “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden” (Matthew 11:28), but they ignore the one where He says, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).
They like the commands that don’t seem to cost too much, but they ignore the ones which call for self-denial and sacrifice. Then they wonder why their life is in such a turmoil. Selective obedience is DISobedience, and it always results in DISorder and DISaster.
Please, if you want rest from the struggle in your own life, don’t pick and choose which commands you’re going to obey! Instead, like Joshua, leave nothing undone of ALL that God has commanded you.
Jason Brown was the highest paid center in the NFL, playing for the St. Louis Rams. In late 2011, Jason had two children and a mansion with two fully-stocked bars. Yet he and his wife were “dying inside” and headed toward divorce. As a professed Christian, Jason had to admit that his relationship with Jesus was a ticket to forgiveness and little else—until he released his grip on money and football. Jason said he started releasing his grip on his lavish lifestyle by pouring thousands of dollars of expensive liquor down the drain.
After leaving the Rams and turning down three other teams, the Brown's put their home up for sale and bought a 100-year-old farmhouse with a dairy barn and 1,000 acres of uninterrupted land in North Carolina. Jason would become a farmer and give away what he grows. Jason learned farm basics from YouTube, which resulted in First Fruits Farm, an organization that seeks, through community and service, to boost Bible literacy.
Ten thousand pounds of cucumbers, and one hundred thousand pounds of sweet potatoes later, Jason says, “I literally still know nothing about farming.” But Jason can summarize his business plan and his life these days with one word: “Obedience.” (Andrew Branch, “Farm Team,” WORLD magazine, 1-24-15; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s radical obedience, but that’s the only way you find rest! However, you cannot obey God like that on your own! That’s why you need to trust Him. That’s why you need to depend on Him first. Then as you depend on the Lord, He gives you the strength to do ALL that He has commanded you to do.
So don’t just look to Jesus as a ticket to forgiveness and little else; look to Jesus to transform your life from the inside out. If you want to find rest from the struggle in your own life, 1st, trust the Lord; then obey the Lord; and finally…
WAIT ON THE LORD.
Be patient. Persevere and don’t give up until the victory is won.
That’s what Joshua did. The rest of chapter 11 and all of chapter 12 describes Joshua’s conquest of the Promised Land and the kings he subdued. I’m not going to read the section except to point out two verses.
The first is Joshua 11:18. Take a look: Joshua made war A LONG TIME with all those kings.
And then the end of chapter 11 says, “And the land had rest from war.”
Rest came through Joshua’s faith and obedience over time! It took “a long time” for him to experience that rest, but he was patient. He didn’t give up until the victory was won.
And that’s what you must do if you want to experience rest from the struggle in your own life. Trust the Lord, to be sure, and obey Him, but also wait on Him! It’s going to take some time, so be patient!
The Bible says, “They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
Strength and rest come to those who “wait for the Lord.” They don’t give up on Him.
In her book Parables: the Arrows of God, Megan McKenna tells the story of a woman, who wanted peace in the world and peace in her heart, but she was very frustrated. The world seemed to be falling apart. She would read papers and get depressed.
One day she decided to go shopping. She went into a mall and picked a store at random. She walked in and was surprised to see Jesus behind the counter. She knew it was Jesus, because he looked just like the pictures she’d seen on holy cards and devotional pictures. She looked again and again at him, and finally she got up her nerve and asked, “Excuse me, are you Jesus?”
“I am.”
“Do you work here?”
“No,” Jesus said, “I own the store.”
“Oh, what do you sell here?”
“Oh, just about anything!”
“Anything?”
“Yeah, anything you want. What do you want?”
She said, “I don’t know.”
“Well,” Jesus said, “feel free, walk up and down the aisles, make a list, see what it is you want, and then come back and we’ll see what we can do for you.”
She did just that, walked up and down the aisles. There was peace on earth, no more war, no hunger or poverty, peace in families, no more drugs, harmony, clean air, careful use of resources. She wrote furiously. By the time she got back to the counter, she had a long list.
Jesus took the list, skimmed through it, looked up at her and smiled. “No problem.” And then he bent down behind the counter and picked out all sorts of things, stood up, and laid out the packets.
She asked, “What are these?”
Jesus replied, “Seed packets. This is a catalog store.”
She said, “You mean I don’t get the finished product?”
“No, this is a place of dreams. You come and see what it looks like, and I give you the seeds. You plant the seeds. You go home and nurture them and help them grow…”
“Oh,” she said. And she left the store without buying anything. (Megan McKenna, Parables: The Arrows of God, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY, 1994; www.PreachingToday.com)
There are a lot of people like that woman. They walk away with nothing, because they are not willing to wait. Please, don’t you do the same.
If you want to find rest from the struggle in your own life, first, trust the Lord. Then, obey the Lord; but also, don’t forget to wait on the Lord, as well. Find rest from the struggle not in your own effort, but in the Lord who fights for you.
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were gorgeous but dangerous creatures who lived on rocky islands. They were part bird and part human. They've also seen them depicted in art as mermaids: from the waist down as fish, from the waist up as strikingly beautiful women. The Sirens sang mesmerizingly beautiful songs that would lure passing sailors to their deaths. As they sang, sailors couldn't help but fling themselves over the sides of the ship and swim toward the enchanting voices, but they would soon find themselves impaled, dying on the jagged rocks on the edges of the islands.
When the mythical hero Odysseus was preparing to sail past the islands of the Sirens, he decided he wanted to hear the Sirens sing, so he had his crew tie him to the mast of the ship, and he instructed them to fill their own ears with wax. When the Sirens sang, Odysseus went mad with desire, but as he was bound and his crew was deaf, they sailed passed safely.
When another traveler named Jason planned to pass the home of the Sirens, Jason took along Orpheus, the supremely gifted musician. They say that when Orpheus played his harp, his music made the rocks dance. When they approached the Sirens, Orpheus played sublime, heavenly music on his harp, and the Sirens began to sing. Orpheus's music was even more beautiful than the Sirens' song, however, and Jason and his crew sailed past unscathed. (Ken Shigematsu, Sermon "The Freeing Power of Silent Prayer," PreachingToday.com)
Some people battle temptation like Odysseus. They try to stop their ears and tie themselves down, but it rarely works. They end up impaled on the rocks of sin.
Instead, like Jason, tune into the beautiful music Jesus offers. Focus on Him. Then find that His pleasures far surpass anything sin has to offer.
Jesus I am resting, resting
In the joy of what Thou art.
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,
And Thy beauty fills my soul.
For by Thy transforming power,
Thou hast made me whole (David Hampton)
