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Erase “Impossible” from Your Vocabulary (A Lesson from Joshua) Posted: 29 Oct 2012 07:11 AM PDT A high-stakes moment in the life of Joshua shows us that when we’re on God’s side, nothing is impossible. This is an excerpt from Lysa TerKeurst’s book Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions. Learn More If ever there were a moment for Joshua to feel overwhelmed at facing a situation totally out of his control, [the siege of Jericho] would have been it. The plan was crazy. Short of a miraculous intervention from God, it wouldn't work. Joshua would be shamed. His people would be defeated. And to those who didn't believe, the God of Israel would be revealed as nothing more than a figment of Joshua's overactive imagination. Talk about pressure. But this is all part of the story with which you're probably familiar. Where's the little part that's less known? … It's at the end of Joshua 5 when Joshua goes out to look at the walls before receiving his marching orders from the Lord. There he is. And there the wall is. Joshua’s challenge Despite Joshua's long military experience, he had never led an attack on a fortified city that was so well prepared for a long siege. In fact, of all the walled cities in Canaan, Jericho was probably the most invincible. There was also the question of armaments. Israel's army had no siege engines, no battering rams, and no catapults. Their only weapons were slingshots, arrows, and spears — which were like straw toys against the walls of Jericho. Yet Joshua knew the battle of Jericho must be won because, having crossed the Jordan River, Israel's troops had no place to which they could retreat. Further, they could not bypass the city because that would leave their women, children, animals, and goods at Gilgal vulnerable to certain destruction. Pondering these heavy thoughts, Joshua is suddenly confronted by a man with a drawn sword. Scripture reveals that this is no mere human but "the commander of the army of the Lord" (Joshua 5:14). God's presence in human form. Seeing that the man is ready for battle, Joshua asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" (Joshua 5:13). Wrapped in this question we see a hesitancy in Joshua — a peek inside his thought life — a need for reassurance. Such an honest question, but one that makes me feel Joshua isn't walking in complete confidence and assurance. If he were, he wouldn't have asked. But he did. And this is where we assume that, of course God's presence will answer, "Joshua, I am with you, for you, and on your side!" But we would assume wrong. When asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" the presence of God says, "Neither." Why? The crucial question Because Joshua has asked the wrong question of the wrong person. The question that needed to be asked and answered wasn't whose side God was on. The real question was one Joshua should have asked himself: "Whose side am I on?" The same goes for us. When faced with a situation out of our control, we need to ask, "Whose side am I on?" Will our response reflect that we are on God's side or not? If we determine that, no matter what, we're on God's side, it settles the trust issue in our hearts. And if we ground ourselves in the reality that we trust God, we can face circumstances that are out of our control without acting out of control. We can't always fix our circumstances, but we can fix our minds on God. We can do that. Joshua did it. [See Joshua 6:13-16.] The walls of Jericho came crashing down. They were impossible no more. I like the thought of impossible being erased from my vocabulary. Especially when it comes to my struggles with feeling unglued. I am on God's side. I can reflect that in my actions and reactions. I can face things out of my control without acting out of control. -From Unglued by Lysa TerKeurst (@LysaTerKeurst)   Learn More Learn more about Lysa TerKeurst’s new book Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions.   (Some styling in this post is a blog-exclusive feature not included in the text of the featured product.)

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