Please read Joshua 8:1-29 in preparation for this lesson:
Having rid themselves of hidden sin God now promises victory over Ai for His people. Again, like Jericho, this victory is shown to be a gift of God: “For I have delivered into your hands the king of AI, his people, his city and his land” (Joshua 8:1).
Even though victory over Ai was a gift of God to His people, they were told how they must defeat it. They were to defeat this “little town” by strategy; that is, they were to lay an ambush for the fighters of Ai, drawing them out of the city, then the Israelites would come and attack the city and burn it (Joshua 8:2-8).
Similarly, God has promised us victory over all our enemies, ensuring through Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection that all believers have spiritual power and authority over all evil forces, and yet we must follow through with God’s plan for winning our battles while trusting in the Lord for the outcome.
For example: let’s say your struggle is with overeating and laziness. God has promised you victory through the cross, yet you must learn how to fight with all the energy He gives you through the Holy Spirit.
What is the strategy for overcoming gluttony and laziness?
First, the main part of our strategy should be learning how to fix our eyes on Jesus, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross and sat down at the right hand of God. We must learn how to consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that we will not grow discouraged and lose heart (Hebrews 12:2-3). Seeing Jesus enables us to turn from idolatry, and savoring Jesus sets us free from searching for other things to savor. In the weight loss course we call this "Savoring Christ!"
Secondly, we need to learn how to "Suffer with Christ", as it states in Philippians 3:10, denying and crucifying our flesh rather than gratifying it. We do this by waiting until we are hungry to eat, rather than eating whenever we desire it.
Thirdly, part of our strategy involves "Walking by the Spirit", for if we walk by the Spirit we will not gratify the lusts of our flesh (Galatians 5:16). We learn how to be transformed by renewing our minds, how to become purposely preoccupied with Jesus, growing our spiritual person rather than pampering our flesh.
Of course, there are many variations of and additional strategies that can be employed, but the main point is that we plan to win the fight knowing that Jesus has already secured our victory at the cross. In this way, we enter into the role of battle commander, strategizing how to defeat our enemies, employing all resources at our disposal, moving forward by faith in the promise of God: “I have delivered this battle into your hand!”
Question 1. Please think through some area of spiritual struggle you have had, maybe have even been defeated by it before. What strategy will you now employ to defeat it while trusting in God’s promise written in blood at the cross? Think carefully about your strategy, and write a full paragraph describing it here:
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Chi writes, "First,I will look to the cross. Secondly, I will imbibe so much of God's word that it takes away fear from my heart and finally I'll try to be more active so that my focus can shift away from myself."
Carol writes, "I think my one struggle is prayer. Talking directly to God. I will employ the strategies of study, worship with ours and being accountable to God. If I have to I can use a notebook to write down my daily prayers. Or even the reminder on my phone."
Amanda writes, "First I will seek the Lord. He had already promised the victory and He promises victory in our lives as well; so we will need to keep that in mind.
Second, have a plan. God gave them a battle plan. The bible talks about how when a man builds a house He plans. We should seek God's word, His wisdom, discretion and direction in developing a plan. Third, have accountability whether it be writing it down so we can see with our own eyes, or sharing with a friend or accountability partner. One battle I struggle with is negativity and worry. 1) God wants me to trust Him, I can trust Him. My focus should be on the love He showed on the cross which proves His love as well as, He keeps giving and showing love. The focus should be on Him and others and not myself. 2) I can make a plan to say words of encouragement 3 times during the day and write it down as I do them so I can see that its been done. I can plan to think one kind thought about every person I see during the day and write that down so I can see that it was done. 3) Look back at the things written down and praise the Lord for His grace in seeing good around me instead of negativity. I could share with a friend some f those victories as well."
Kello O. writes, "The Lord has helped me to overcome sins like sexual immorality in the past, but I still do struggle with laziness and other issues. The strategy to be implemented includes fixing my eyes upon Jesus, and turning from the sin of laziness and procrastination. The second strategy would be to plan a schedule and to do list, implement and uphold this regardless of my feelings. Over time this would become habit. Thirdly, after turning to Jesus from laziness, and implementing a plan of attack, I will ask for others to help hold me to accountable from laziness. Perhaps I’ll ask them to check in twice a week, or I’ll text him when it is a struggle to get work done. This would be the strategy for overcoming laziness by God’s transforming grace."