It Ain't Over Til' God Gets Through

I have watched people through the course of their lives endeavor to reach a goal; begin a project; determine a specific success; or simply invest their personal energy into a social program only to discover the horror of their personal deficiency when they were not able to complete the process to an acceptable degree of recognized self worth. Simply put, the longer they worked on the endeavor, the less energy they found to continue due to a diminishing sense of fulfillment. I know you thought you were the only person who felt like quitting when it was no longer fun, but you are not.

The pressure of impending personal failure seems to intensify when you associate the demise in any manner with God, or what we know as His work. I believe this was the mood and setting in which we find Joshua and Israel as chapter eight of the Book of Joshua begins. Mixed emotions would certainly be an understatement. Put the victory at Jericho with the defeat at Ai and you have a clear picture of what most of us experience at some point, maybe on a daily basis.
It always seems easy to revisit the memory of Jericho with it’s victory and triumph, but much harder to go back to Ai. Hey God, send me back to Jericho, I am ready to be your Ambassador. But please, don’t send me back to Ai. I lost it all there. It is the place of my failure. Ai represents for me the constant reminder that I did not have what it took to complete the assignment.
God has a way of going to the heart of the matter when it comes to your place in His purpose. He tells Joshua in crystal clear terms, “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise and go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. God is giving you the same distinct direction. Go back to the place of your defeat and loss. He is not through with the situation that you perceived as your downfall and ruin. Get back into the battle! Your not defeated just a little delayed. Hold your head up. That incident was not your failure it was the beginning of your salvation. You have yet to see what it was that God purposed from the beginning. Watch God reverse the tide of public opinion. God is not concerned with what “they” think about the place of your apparent destruction. He is more concerned about your thinking! Renew your mind through the washing of His word in you. Your first visit to Ai was the result of not putting God first at Jericho. This time will be different. In fact Jericho was God’s, but Ai is yours. God tells Joshua, “it’s spoil and cattle shall ye take as booty for yourselves.” This is for your blessing and prosperity.

When Joshua realizes “It ain’t over ’till God gets through” he is able to move in dimensions of faith that open supernatural ability to alter natural laws for the benefit of his personal victory. Get back into the battle. Your finest hour of blessing is waiting on your spiritual authority.