“When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, ‘Are you for us, or for our adversaries?’ And he said, ‘No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.’” – Joshua 5:13-14a
In that moment, Joshua was thinking exactly the way we usually do. We wonder (or assume or claim or pray) whether God is on “our” side or “their” side. We advocate for our cause by claiming God is on our side. We do this with disputes within church congregations and in wars between nations. But is it true? As the commander of Heaven’s armies says, that whole way of thinking is flawed. This mindset simply reveals our fundamentally self-centered way of thinking and our very earthly focus. The answer is “No”.
God isn’t on “our” side or “their” side. He is on His side. At all times. He seeks His glory and accomplishes His will. Believers in Jesus are invited and commanded to follow Jesus. If we truly follow Jesus, then we will be on God’s side. That’s how it really works. We will pursue His glory and seek to accomplish His will no matter what. It’s a very different way of thinking but it’s exactly what Jesus calls His followers to do. Get on God’s side.
This is what it is to take up your cross daily. Stop being concerned about God being on “your” side and concern yourself with getting and staying on His side. Not seeking to wrap your opinions and battles in the trappings of Christ but covering yourself in the blood of the lamb. Living, thinking, speaking, and acting as a blood-bought citizen of Heaven who earnestly desires His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. So, whose side are you on? Yours or God’s? #FollowJesus