You Must Have a Plan to Win the Battle!

	Sign In Sign-Up

DAILY DEVOTIONAL TUESDAY DECEMBER 30, 2003
(Joshua 6:8-20)

So Joshua summoned the priests and gave them their instructions: the armed men would lead the procession followed by seven priests blowing continually on their trumpets. Behind them would come the priests carrying the Ark, followed by a rearguard.

"Let there be complete silence except for the trumpets," Joshua commanded. "Not a single word from any of you until I tell you to shout; then shout!"

The Ark was carried around the city once that day, after which everyone returned to the camp again and spent the night there. At dawn the next morning they went around again, and returned again to the camp. They followed this pattern for six days. At dawn of the seventh day they started out again, but this time they went around the city not once, but seven times. The seventh time, as the priests blew a long, loud trumpet blast, Joshua yelled to the people, "Shout! The Lord has given us the city!"

(He had told them previously, "Kill everyone except Rahab the prostitute and anyone in her house, for she protected our spies. Don't take any loot, for everything is to be destroyed. If it isn't, disaster will fall upon the entire nation of Israel. But all the silver and gold and the utensils of bronze and iron will be dedicated to the Lord, and must be brought into his treasury.")

So when the people heard the trumpet blast, they shouted as loud as they could. And suddenly the walls of Jericho crumbled and fell before them, and the people of Israel poured into the city from every side and captured it!

You must have a plan to win the battle! I get so many emails each day from people all over the world who are in the midst of major battles in their life. They are desperate, looking for something magical to happen to make their circumstances different overnight. I pray that by now you know how much I love you and care about you. I try each day to stand with you, pray with you, and help you through the trials of day to day life.

This is one of those days that I need to use some tough love on you. So many of you have absolutely unrealistic expectations about resolving your problems that you need someone to tell you the truth. I hear over and over every day people say, "God has abandoned me... He doesn't love me or how could He make me go through this." The fact is God has never left you, God loves you unconditionally, and you go through most of the battles in your life because you do not have a plan to get victory!

In today's scripture, we read about the plan God gave Joshua to take the city of Jericho. Granted, it was an unusual plan, but it was a plan given by God that when faithfully executed, worked. When the allies stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, do you think they just woke up one morning and decided to give it a try? Absolutely not. The generals spent months planning, looking at all the different scenarios, strategizing, coming up with the best plan they could to win that important battle. When you face the battles in your life each day, why do you think you can just wake up and wish those battles would go away? That is unrealistic.

It is also unrealistic to think that God is some genie in the bottle that you call on when you are in trouble and He will snap fingers and make everything perfect. The fact is, most of your battles didn't just happen overnight, they developed over a period of time. Victory will probably not happen overnight either, it will take place over a period of time. Let me interject that God can do anything, and if He, in His sovereign will, chooses to eliminate your problems overnight He CAN do that. However, that is normally not the way God works. He will bring victory over a period of time because in that process several things occur. You learn how to be obedient, faithfully execute God's plan for your life, and depend upon Him.

The question becomes where do I get this plan? God gives us His plan for victory in many ways. This is again why it becomes critical to have that intimate daily relationship with Him. It is in that close daily contact through prayer, the Word, that He speaks to us. In our circumstances He speaks to us. Through the counsel of others He speaks to us. It is a combination of all the above that helps us formulate a game plan, His plan, to be victorious. One important element I just mentioned was the counsel of others. God has placed mature, Godly people in our life strategically to help us overcome our battles. Drop your pride and reach out to the wise counsel of others. Let them know about your struggles, ask them to help you formulate a viable plan to see victory. Once armed with the plan God gives you, it requires you to be like Joshua. Faithfully and obediently follow the plan. Trust God, put your faith in Him, He won't let you down.

I love you and care about you so much. I will be praying today that these words find a fertile resting place in your hearts and minds today. Focus today on spending time with the Lord to formulate a game plan to gain victory over whatever battles you might be fighting today. God will give you the plan, then it is up to you to follow the plan. There really is victory in Jesus. He has won the victory over whatever battle you are facing 2000 years ago on Calvary. It is time to start living your life in that victory.

It is tough for God to use defeated soldiers to fight the battles each day. That is why it is critical to get victory in your life, so that you can lead others to victory. May your number one priority today be getting a plan from God to win the battles you are facing in your life, execute that plan faithfully, and be able to claim my personal signature scripture from 1 Corinthians 15:57 that says, "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the VICTORY through our Lord Jesus Christ."

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal email at bkeller@liveprayer.com.

***NEW AUDIO DEVOTIONAL! You are now be able to get an audio version of the Daily Devotional each day done by me at http://www.liveprayer.com/DailyDevotionalAudio.html. As wonderful as it is to be able to communicate with you through email, many of these Devotionals need to be heard. I pray that this new free service will be a blessing to you.

Are you Saved? If your answer is anything but a resounding yes, click here.

For live prayer and answers 24/7, whether you are Saved or not, visit LivePrayer.com. Someone is always there for you.

To view more inspiring Devotionals such as this one, or to search for one on a specific topic, check out the Devotional Archive.

To receive your own devotional each day, or to sign someone else up to receive these free inspired daily devotionals, have the e-mail address ready and visit the Free Devotional Signup page. Subscription can be cancelled at any time.

To view other inspirational websites, visit A Place Of True Inspiration And Hope on the Internet.

For your very own free website, please visit www.50megs.com.

Questions or suggestions about this website should be directed to the webmaster.