Sometimes life feels like a battle. We’re always struggling with something, right? We overcome one thing only to face the next. Why does life feel like such a battle? BECAUSE IT IS. Heck yeah you woke up to a battle today, and if you’re not fighting it, you’re losing it. This world will pull you into hopelessness. It will lull you into robotic living with eyes glazed over watching tiny screens as your life passes you by. It will suck you into a meaningless existence and strip you of the will to fight it.

But Sis, our God is Lord over all battles. He has never been, and will never be, defeated. His plans for you are not plans of defeat here. You need to know that. You are NOT to lose this battle. This isn’t where you give up. This isn’t where you give in. This is where God equips you, guides you, and gives you your battle plan.

Within the book of Joshua are 3 battles. 3 battles that appeared as certain defeat to Joshua and his army. But, with each one, God gave Joshua a ridiculous battle plan and all he had to do was step into victory just as God had said.

First, the Battle of Jericho.
Joshua 6: 2 God said “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands …” then he told him the plan of action. March. That was it. March around the walls, then blow horns, and the impossible walls of Jericho will fall down. That makes absolutely no sense, but because Joshua was willing to march, he stepped into victory just as God had said.

The battle you face is not impossible to God. He is making a way through this for you. The way through may not make sense to you. But God didn’t ask you to understand it, he asked you to show up for it. Show up and march here. Marching is simply one step after the other. That’s your answer girlfriend … this step right in front of you, then the next one after that. And if you keep moving forward, your breakthrough will come. The impossible will become possible. Why? Because your God is that powerful and that personal. He invites you into the impossible battle and gives you something simple to do … just march. And as you march in obedience, taking this step then the next, God starts tearing down some walls on your behalf!

What does that mean to you today?
That means for those of us battling for our health finding ourselves in a deep hole we’ve dug with our own forks, we step away from the junk and we make the next healthy choice. March on my sister!
For those of us drowning in debt, we resist the urge to just charge it today thinking another $20 won’t matter. March on sis, you don’t need that!

For those of us with a wayward child on the wrong path in life, we continue to offer love with strong boundaries, and refuse to give up hope for their future. There is strength for that next step today, march.
For those of us with discouragement that weighs a ton and regret that holds us back, we take the next step towards the wholeness Jesus offers and bring our burdens to him. We lay it down here at his feet, where our load is lightened for the step beyond this.

After Joshua’s success with the Battle of Jericho, God brought him to another battle. Joshua 8: 1-2 “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 Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king.”

Once again, God is giving Joshua a battle plan that doesn’t make sense. They are outnumbered and odds are not in their favor. But WHEN GOD IS FOR YOU, WHO CAN BE AGAINST YOU? And sister, if God says MARCH, all you need to do is MARCH!

This time God says, remember what you did at Jericho, remember how I led you there, remember the unlikely victory I gave you there … now I’ll do it again.

And God says the same thing to you this morning. He says “My girl, remember how I helped you overcome in the past? Remember how I made a way through the impossible? Remember how I got you through then? Trust that I will do it again!”

You’ve fought battles before and you’ve overcome, haven’t you? You’ve made it through some tough crap sister. AND YOU WILL MAKE IT THROUGH THIS TOO. Remember what God has done for you before, and move forward knowing HE WILL DO IT AGAIN!

Once again, Joshua and his outnumbered and unlikely army show up and take over the King of Ai, his people, his city and his land, just as God said they would.

Now, the third battle. This was a battle against the Amorities, which were 5 armies combined as 1 powerhouse against Joshua and his army. Joshua 10: 8 “The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”

Having seen God’s battle plan success 2 other times, Joshua confidently did as God had said. Verse 9 says “After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise.”

Yip, all night they marched. But this time, they were good at marching. They had been marching their way through battle after battle. The battle of chapter 6. The battle of chapter 8. Now, the battle of chapter 10. Do you think there was victory here? Oh, you bet your butt there was! Victory that didn’t make sense. Victory that was totally unlikely. Victory that was delivered by the hand of God to an obedient Joshua who was willing to keep marching. One chapter after another, Joshua kept showing up for the battle and marching through it.

I don’t know what battle chapter you’re on my friend, but I know this … God’s intention is to give you victory here. Chapter 6, a battle and a victory. Chapter 8, a battle and a victory. Chapter 10, a battle and a victory. Guess what’s coming next … another battle. Guess what will be there for you then? A way to step into victory. You are not to succumb to this attack. You are not to stay stuck in this self-dug pit. You are not to decide you’re too far gone, this is all hopeless, and surrender to defeat here. NO GIRL, YOU ARE TO MARCH.

March with confidence knowing you are being guided by a God who knows victory in the battle. A God who knows impossible ways to overcome. A God who is personally invested in your next step and guiding you there. Remember how he has brought you through before, and go for it!

Just as God told Joshua he had already delivered this victory into his hands, God has put victory in your hands too. Victory over this battle you woke up in today. Victory over the same thing you’ve been struggling with most of your adult life. Victory over the habits that have warped your life into something you never wanted. God has already given you the victory! He has made a way for you to overcome these habits. He has made a way for you to end this struggle. He has made a way for you to win this fight. You may have to march all night. You may have to march for days and days. You may be so darn tired of marching, but that’s how this battle will be won. The next right step, followed by the one right after that.

God will lead you through to your victory but you have to take the next step.