"Large And Small Victories"

"And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few." Joshua 7:3 

When the Israelites entered into the promised land, they had to drive out the inhabitants and take back the land. The second city they encountered was Ai. Ai was a very small city. So after having defeated the much larger city of Jericho they felt that overtaking this city would be easy. But they were sadly mistaken. 

 

Why were they unable to defeat such a small city? Why had they easily defeated a much larger one but were being defeated by this small one? The reason is simple, they tried to defeat it on their own. They did not bother to consult God about it. They thought they could do it without Him. 

 

It doesn't matter what size your enemy is. We, in and of ourselves, don't have the power to defeat them. The Bible warns us about "small" things that they are just as dangerous as the large ones. (The little foxes spoil the vine; a little leaven leavens the whole lump.) When we win "large" victories, we must be careful to always remember that it was not us, it was the Lord fighting the battle for us. When we face smaller battles, we must also remember that it is the Lord fighting the battle for us that wins the victory. Without Him we can do nothing. But with Him we can do all things. With Him we are more than conquerors--- over the Jerichos and the Ais. 

 

Never let the victories you have already won (especially if they are victories over larger enemies) make you think that you can win the next one by yourself. Every victory we win- large and small- is because the Lord has caused us to triumph, we didn't do it on our own. 

 

Have a great day. Every battle we win is won through the Lord, not on our own. 

 

For further reading:

Joshua 7

Song of Solomon 2:15

Galatians 5:9

1 Samuel 17:47

Romans 8:37