Joshua 13, Psalm 147, 1 Thessalonians 4

Joshua was old and had fought many battles for control of cities in the Promised Land. But God said, "There remains very much land yet to be conquered." I wonder how it felt to hear those words and know they were true. Yet I do hear them every day. "So much to do and so little time." The victories of my past are, indeed, past. I have to look forward. God also told Joshua to go ahead and divide the land among the tribes so they would know where their inheritance lay. Chapter 13 details what had already been conquered east of the Jordan.

Seeing at least part of the dream already come true and settled surely must have motivated the warriors to keep fighting for the rest. So take time to savor your victories thus far--but not too much. Remember them, then move on. Go take the rest of your inheritance.

"The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those whose hope is His mercy." (Psalm 147:11) This is the key to victory and ultimate peace. It is the Lord who does all the great things listed in this Psalm, not a man or woman. (See verse 10) We can trust Him to provide. And then we need to praise HIm for having done so.

If we want to know how to live in the "land" the Lord has given us, how to act as occupiers, 1 Thessalonians 4 tells us.

1. Remain sexually pure. In those days and in these, it is exceedingly difficult to stay pure. Not only does temptation abound, but so does social acceptance of any sort of deviant behavior. This point is crucial, however.
2. Lead a quiet life. Work to support yourself and love your fellow Christians. This means minding your own business! Paul did actually say those words.
3. Keep the end in mind. Peace comes from knowing how the story ends.

Joshua knew how it would end, David knew, and Paul knew. We do, too.

Joshua 12, Psalm 146, 1 Thessalonians 3

Pure victory. All-out, absolute, unequivocated, complete, total, without-a-doubt victory. That was the end result of the battles Moses and Joshua fought. If God is for us, indeed, who can be against us? Thirty-one kings and their armies were completely wiped out. The land belonged to the Israelites.

Who is the King of the land? The Lord is. "Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help." (verse 3) Don't put your trust in earthly princes because they'll let you down every time. The Lord is a wise, righteous, benevolent ruler.

Paul was on pins and needles of anxiety over the Thessalonians until he found out that they had remained faithful to the gospel. It seems in verses 1-4 that his physical afflictions had left him so scarred that he was afraid for the Thessalonians to see him. That maybe they would be disheartened by seeing him. But warriors do bear scars. Paul heard back from Timothy that they were still living proof of the victory of salvation.

Victory. It requires trusting the Lord as your general, and engaging in battle ourselves. It can also mean physical persecution and certainly does mean spiritual and emotional persecution by Satan. We will be wounded and we will have scars. But scars, while recalling the wounding experience, indicate healing. We can trust the Lord to bring us through to complete victory.