Whose side are you on?

One day, Joshua was near Jericho when he saw a man standing some distance in front of him. The man was holding a sword, so Joshua walked up to him and asked, "Are you on our side, or on our enemies' side?""Neither," he asnwered. "I am here because I am the commander of the Lord's army." Joshua fell to his knees and bowed down to the ground. "I am your servant," he said. "Tell me what to do.""Take off your sandals," the commander answered. "This is a holy place." So Joshua took off his sandals. (Joshua 5:13-15)

How arrogant we humans tend to be. It is once again illustrated in this passage. Joshua, God's chosen leader to conquer the promised land for Israel, confidently approaches this strange warrior to demand an answer. As leader, this was his right. More than that, it was his duty. However he got the question wrong. He asks the man on whose side he was; Israel's or their enemies'? The man's answer puts Joshua in his place. Neither. He is on God's side.
Why does Joshua not respond, with the words "But then you ARE on our side?" Because Joshua immediately realized his own error. The battles ahead of him, were not in his own interest, it was in God's interest. The war he waged, was not his own, but God's. God stood on one side and He was unshakable. Joshua needed to pick a side. It wasn't about which nation he sided with, it was all about whether he sided WITH God, or against Him.
Joshua immediately submits himself to God's command and falls down on his knees. That is when the ground he is on, becomes holy.
I can not help but ask myself a number of questions from this passage:

• Whose side am I on, or am I still arrogantly expecting God to be on my side?
• Can I humble myself and submit to God, or are my own interests and ego too big for me to acknowledge God as Commander of my life and battles?
• Am I conquering holy ground, or am I looking to take territory that God has no interest in?

It is time to re-prioritize, and to make sure that I am fighting on God's side, He is not fighting on mine.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy the books here:
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