Whose Side, Mine or Yours?

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”  “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell face-down to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” Joshua 5: 13 – 14

Joshua was given a simple but profound lesson. He was told, simply, that he was serving God and His kingdom and not the other way around. God had plans and purposes to initiate a King and a Kingdom. Joshua was part of that plan even though he could never comprehend the vastness or majesty of the outcome.

How often do we make the same mistake that Joshua made, that is, making God the servant of our whims, or at least, trying to. God’s plans are eternal and perfect. We should be grateful that He includes the likes of Joshua, and us. Like Joshua, we have yet to see the majesty and perfection of the return of the king.