Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Should Christians "Let Go and Let God?" | The Life of Joshua | Joshua 8

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to Tim Minna Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. And I'm Patrick Miller. Right now, we're going through the book of Joshua. Also, if you want to connect with us, follow us on Twitter at TMBT podcast. You can also check out our hashtag, hashtag, Ask TMBT, where you can ask us anything, and we'd love to connect with you. What do you think about the saying, let go and let God?

Starting point is 00:00:32 as in let go of your life and let God run your life. It sounds spiritual, doesn't it? Sounds mature, sounds like, boy, you must really trust God. Here's the only problem I see with it. I don't think it's in the Bible. I don't think the Bible teaches it. Let go, let God sounds catchy, but I'm not sure it's biblical. Now look, with popular phrases like this one,

Starting point is 00:00:54 it's always hard to know exactly what a person means. But I would be very hesitant to use a saying like let go, let God, because I think it encourages passivity. It sounds like there's not much for me to do. God's just going to come in and take over. I'll just stand out of the way while God fixes everything and makes it all good. Now, can God work without us? Of course he can.

Starting point is 00:01:17 But God's normal way of working is through us. We see that truth and a whole lot more in Joshua chapter 8. The chapter starts this way. Then the Lord said to Joshua, Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, take the whole army with you, and go up and attack I. That's the name of the city, I, A, I. And God continues, for I have delivered into your hands the king of I, his people, his city, and his land. Now this is the second time Israel has fought against I. Maybe you listened to the last episodes where Patrick and Tanya talked about how I was a very small city and yet it defeated the bigger Israel. We know that Israel was defeated because of the sin of a man named Aiken.

Starting point is 00:02:01 If you didn't listen to those episodes, you should. The story is interesting, and it serves as a much-needed warning for us. But for now, all you need to know is that Israel lost a battle that they should have won because they'd sinned against God, and therefore God didn't go with them into battle. Israel confessed their sin, repented of their sin, got right with God, and now God is directing them to fight a second time against I. This time is going to have a different result because God is going with them. When we confess our sin, turn away from it, get right with God, we pick right back up with God.

Starting point is 00:02:39 Well, this story continues with Joshua giving Israel detailed instructions about how the attack is supposed to go down. The strategy that they want to use is an ambush. What they're going to do is have part of the army attack the city and then, fall back in an attempt to draw the army of Ai outside of the city walls so that they won't be protected anymore. And when their army, I's army, comes out of the city, another group of Israelites soldiers who have been hiding will attack the vulnerable city. Now here's the tension I want to discuss. We already heard in verse one that God had promised to give the city over to Israel. So why did Israel have a strategy for the battle? Why even go into battle at all? Why not

Starting point is 00:03:22 take the let go let God approach. Let go of fighting. Let God do his thing. He'll take care of the battle. We'll just sit here at our campsite while God wins the city. Why, God wins the war. But that's definitely not how God works here or anywhere else in the Bible. In the book of Acts, we read that the Apostle Paul is having a very difficult time ministering in a city called Corinth. God tells Paul that he has many people in that city. God has people there. So what does Paul do? What would you do if you had a hard time ministering in a city and God said he had a lot of people there? Maybe you'd leave and go to another city, an easier city? Maybe you would take a much-needed vacation?

Starting point is 00:04:03 Well, if God has people there already, why does Paul need to stay? Shouldn't he just let go and let God bring people to faith? When Paul hears that God has many people in Corinth, even though he's had a very difficult time ministering there, He stays there for well over a year sharing the message of Jesus. Because Paul knows the same thing that Joshua knows. God's normal way of doing things is to work through the labor's efforts and prayers of his people. Jesus says that our father knows what we need before we even ask. Well, then why ask if God already knows?

Starting point is 00:04:41 Well, one reason is because God loves to provide in response to the prayers of his people. God could give you a good marriage without requiring anything of you. But he doesn't do it that way. No. I mean, God works through your date nights or through learning to care for one another or through reading a good marriage book or through the process of conflict and reconciliation. He works through all those things to give you a good marriage. I think you get the point. But here's one more example. It's in the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah is Israel's leader and he's heard that Israel's enemy, are coming to attack them as they try to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. So Nehemi's response to the

Starting point is 00:05:23 threat is to pray and post a guard. I love that, don't you? I mean, let go and let God would have said, just pray. God will guard the city. But the Bible says that the way God is going to protect you is through the guard. Now make no mistakes. It's God who protects, just like it's God who gave Joshua the victory over I. We must pray. We must depend on God. But God works through the strategies and through the efforts of his people. So maybe you're in a conflict with somebody right now. What should you do? Well, I think it would be wise to start by praying. Ask God to humble you. Ask God to show you where you are wrong. Ask God for insight into the other person. Ask God to reconcile this relationship. Now, if you followed the let go, let God approach, then all your work would be done.

Starting point is 00:06:18 You would just pray. That would be the let go and let God do his thing. But I think the Bible calls you to go further. After you've prayed, now I think it's time to call the other person, initiate lunch or a coffee, set up a time to meet with them. And when you get there, apologize for anything that you know that you did wrong. Ask the person to forget. you. Perhaps God will bring reconciliation through those efforts. Or maybe you want to stop drinking so much. So what should you do? Well, I don't know how big of a problem your drinking is, but I think it's always good to start by praying, praying that God would show you why you drink too much, praying and asking God for self-control, praying and ask for God to bring friends in your life to help encourage you as you try to

Starting point is 00:07:10 cut back on alcohol. Now, the let go let God approach would say, you've done all you can do. But I think the Bible calls you to do more. I think the biblical model is that now you would want to share your desire to cut back in your drinking with other friends. Maybe you would seek counseling. Maybe you would get rid of some of the alcohol in your house. Maybe you would have to be wise about how often you're around with certain groups of friends that influence you to drink too much. Again, I don't know how big the problem is. I'm just trying to give us a model that says, yes, we must pray. We must depend on God. He alone is our strength, our wisdom, our rock. He's the one who's going to deliver us. And yet, the way God normally works is through efforts and through prayers

Starting point is 00:07:58 and through labors. And so we must also take action, trusting that God is at work in and through us. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps others find this podcast more easily. Also ask yourself who you could share this podcast with. Texting an episode to a friend or family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually. If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Should Christians "Let Go and Let God?" | The Life of Joshua | Joshua 8

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