From Struggle to Triumph: Part 3
From Struggle to Triumph: Part 3 || Day 5
Joshua 1:2-11 NKJV
“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ”
In Luke chapter 1, there was a man by the name Zacharias. He and his wife were both well advanced in their years, much past the age of childbearing. Secondly, his wife Elizabeth was barren. Zacharias was a priest of the Lord. While he was serving as priest an angel appeared to him with a message from God. This man received a word from God that was sent by one of the top angels, Gabriel.
Gabriel tells Zacharias that his prayers have been heard and that his wife Elizabeth will bear a son and that he shall call him John. He tells him he will have the spirit and power of Elijah, and that he will turn many of the children of Israel to their God.
Zacharias then begins to tell Gabriel his problems and why all this is impossible to happen—as if he is not standing in the presence of the angel that stands in the presence of God.
Because Zacharias didn’t believe the word from God the angel makes him mute. Without some understanding and revelation of the word this seems like a very strange consequence for not believing the word from an angel, especially since this was a prayer request that was being answered by God. But once you understand the ways of God, then you understand what is going on in this story.
The Bible tells us that life and death is in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21), that God has given man dominion and authority on the earth (Genesis 1:28), that out of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45), and that we can decree a thing and it shall be established (Job 22:28). The Bible says that Abraham spoke those things that were not as though they were (Romans 4:17). The Bible says that whatever we bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever we loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:19).
It was God’s will and plan for John to be born, and to be the one to introduce Jesus as the lamb of heaven. We know this because in John 1:6 the Bible says that there was a man sent from God whose name was John. Therefore, we know that it was God’s plan and will for John to live and to prepare the way of the Lord.
The problem here is that of Zacharias is a legal legitimate agent on the earth who has dominion and authority here. Therefore, he gets to say what comes in the earth and what doesn’t. Psalm 115:16 says, “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men.” Therefore, if he continues to speak against or not agree with the word of the Lord for his life, he will then sabotage God’s plan for his life.
When the angel makes him mute it is not God’s punishment it is God’s mercy. In Luke 1:13 the angel comes to Zacharias and says, “Your prayer has been heard and your wife Elizabeth will bare you a son.” Isn’t it amazing that he was praying for something that he really didn’t expect to receive. And when the answer did show up, he couldn’t line his words up with what heaven was saying. The angel makes him mute so he can receive what he has been praying for. Therefore, his words had the ability to disrupt the plan God had for his life.
Church, I declare over you that the days of sabotaging and compromising your future are over.