Whose Side Are You On?
"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...'" Joshua 5:13-14
I have grown up my entire life thinking about how God is on MY side. There are verses and Psalms and throughout the Bible that relate to this idea. There's even a very powerful song that has the lyrics,
"I believe our God
is on our side
now and forever
now and forever."
It's a great visual and is a comforting thought, but I've recently realized that this isn't the whole story. When Joshua encounter this angel, the angel didn't say that he was on Joshua's side. He wasn't on his enemies side either. Rather he was on God's side. You see, if we always picture God as being on our side, it become extremely easy to make God our "yes man." Since God is on your side then He will get you that job you so desperately want. He will make that girl you like fall in love with you. He will miraculously get you out of debt. He will get you into the school of your dreams. The problem is, that's not how God works.
He has a plan and purpose for each and every one of us (spoiler alert: it's a good purpose)! Take Joseph for instance. Do you think that it was his dream to be sold into slavery by his brothers? Do you think his ultimate aspirations were to be a servant? What about being accused of attempted rape and then being thrown in prison?
At one point while he was in prison, he thought he had a divine way out, and surely if God was on his side then he would have been freed, but he was forgotten. Eventually he was released from prison, made the second powerful man in all of Egypt, and saved thousands upon thousands of people.
Throughout all the hardship, Joseph never lost his faith, he stayed in God's will, and because of that God was with him through it all. Just because a job doesn't work out or that girl didn't fall in love with you, doesn't mean that God's forsaken you. He just has something bigger and better in mind for you.
The question you should be asking isn't, "Whose side are you on God?" but more accurately, "Am I on God's side?"