SAND ON A SEASHORE
Today's reading: Joshua 11-15

"All the kings responded by mobilizing their warriors and uniting to fight against Israel. Their combined armies, along with a vast array of horses and chariots, covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore. They established their camp around the water near Merom to fight against Israel. Then the Lord said to Joshua, Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow they will all be dead..." Joshua 11:4-6 NLT

It could have happened that this vast army made a surprise attack.

God could have told Joshua, There is this battle I need you to fight.

God could have kept Joshua from seeing the army covering the landscape.

But He didn't.

He chose to let Joshua see every single soldier, horse and chariot.

Might it have been so that in the end, when the last horse was crippled and the last chariot burned, that Joshua would know without a single doubt, that it was all God?

Sometimes God withholds things from us. He keeps us from seeing the entire picture. He shields our eyes and heart from what He is doing behind the scenes.

And some days? Well, some days, He places the enemy smack dab in front of us to see with our own two eyes. To see how very big he is. To see how it seems he is everywhere. To see how many facets of our lives the enemy invades. To feel his foul warm breath breathing down our necks. To know the huge job ahead.

All so we will know, when the battle is over and we stand victorious once again, that it is ALL Him!

I don't know what He is allowing you to see today on the landscape before you, but it is all in His control. Do not be afraid!

The grand design of God in all the afflictions that befall his people is to bring them nearer and closer to himself. -- Thomas Brooks