Get Up and Go

Introduction: In the first few months of 1940, with the fate of France uncertain and the threat of Nazi Germany impending, Britain withdrew its troops from mainland Europe. It was one of the most massive retreats in military history. Beginning on May 26, over 330,000 Allied troops had made the dangerous withdrawal across the English Channel on thousands of privately owned, small boats.

In the aftermath of this seemingly miraculous deliverance, England was in a mood of euphoria. The retreat had been pulled off successfully. And the British people celebrated as if they had won the war. But such an exodus was misleading. Victory had not been secured. Defeat had only been avoided—temporarily.

In an attempt to temper such ill-found confidence, Prime Minister Winston Churchill stood behind the podium of the House of Commons on June 4, and sounded a sober note of reality. No victory could be claimed. “Wars are not won by evacuations!” he admonished.

Many historians considered it one of the greatest speeches ever delivered. A message worth a thousand guns, many said. Typically stoic British House members cried. So did the manly Churchill.

The Prime Minister concluded his message by calling upon all Englishmen to courageously defend their island to the death. As Churchill concluded his now-famous address, he deliberately sought to infuse a defiant spirit into his fellow countrymen when he said:
We shall not flag nor fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

Steel-willed resolve is needed to win wars. A strong, inner fortitude. A deep dedication. A sense of purpose.

“Wars are never won by evacuations!”

Exactly two weeks later, on June 18, England braced itself for the inevitable Battle of Britain—Hitler’s invasion by air. With the English people prepared to fight for their national survival, Churchill addressed Parliament again. His words called for ironclad courage.
Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. . . . Let us, therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say, “This was their finest hour.”

That’s how wars are won. Victory belongs not to the faint-hearted. Nor does it belong to the weak willed. Nor to the uncommitted. Not if the enemy is great and his resolution strong. Only by facing the adversary head-on with undaunted valor can the battle be won. Victory necessitates that we fight on with undying, inflexible resolve.

I. Another Time, Another Place, Another Campaign

The Hebrew nation had come to the edge of the land of promise. A land given to them by God. But they retreated. They withdrew their forces. They evacuated. And for forty years they wandered in the desert. Defeated in their minds by an enemy that never fired a single shot or mounted a campaign.

Now forty years later, perched on the brink of the Promised Land, the Hebrew nation and their leader, Joshua, were back. Joshua was the successor to the great emancipator and charismatic deliverer, Moses. In command, he was nervous. Forty years earlier Joshua was a young man with great energy and reckless abandon. He could conqueror the world, all by himself. Now, forty years later, ready for retirement, he was not so confident, not so positive. He was apprehensive and afraid.

The task before him was in a word impossible. He had been a covert operator, spying out the land forty years earlier. Strong and warlike people defended Canaan. Their very appearance had caused the ten other spies sent by Moses to cringe with fear and feel as small as grasshoppers. The Hebrews were out manned and outnumbered by a daunting opposition. Living off the desert for forty years, they were in no condition to assemble a major military campaign. The battle of taking the land looked as improbable as the island nation of Britain not falling to the mighty onslaught of the German juggernaut. If the truth were unknown, the rank and file would rather evacuate than mount a charge.

But, wars are not won by evacuations.

Joshua was, by the way, an octogenarian. Perhaps his commanding skills were not as sharp. He had not led a military assault in over forty years. But, like all great leaders, he knew that timing was of the essence. In this engagement, his timing was not as critical as God’s timing. That day had come. God’s perfect timing had arrived. Joshua, fearful and timid but older and wiser now, would do what God desired to have done forty years earlier—take the land.

This would be the Hebrew nation’s finest hour.

God, the commander in chief, gave the order, "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get provisions ready for yourselves, for within three days you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you to inherit' " (Joshua 1:11). With the order came not a detailed battle plan but rather a rallying cry, a pep talk, from the Lord. God, in Churchillian fashion, gave Joshua a stirring speech to quite his nerves, to calm his fears, to remind him who was in charge, and to motivate him to action

II. The Call to Arms
The first nine verses of the Book of Joshua record the Lord’s commission to Joshua concerning his position and responsibilities. This divine commission demands courage, faith, and action. It promises success. It contains principles that will be helpful for any group mounting a new campaign or any individual preparing for a new challenge.

A. Let go of the past (Josh. 1:1).

Moses’ presence loomed large and powerful. Joshua had been Moses’ lieutenant, his assistant for over forty years. Living in Moses’ shadow was rather intimidating. As Joshua compared himself, he just did not measure up. No doubt, Joshua felt inferior. He needed to hear God say, “Joshua, Moses my servant is dead! For years, I’ve been preparing you for this moment. I saw great promise in you a long time ago. Quit comparing yourself. Live in the present, not in the past.”

We all have a past. A conglomeration of dreams, plans, successes, and failures that make us who we are because of what we have done. Our past is filled with disappointments and delights. We all have skeletons in the closest that make us ashamed and often times blush with embarrassment or at other times cry because of the pain. For many of us the personal inventory of our past overshadows any hopes of future fulfillment.

Moving forward involves living with our backs to the past, putting it behind us. To win the battle without often requires that we first win the battle within. This battle means confronting our past defeats, our past misdeeds, our past inferior feelings, and, yes, sometimes our past victories.

Gary Barnett and the Northwestern University Wildcats had a Cinderella year as they won the 1995 Big Ten Conference and a trip to the Rose Bowl. It was a year to marvel and relish over and over again.

On the afternoon of the opening spring practice for the 1996 season, the Wildcat football team gathered for the first time since the Rose Bowl.  As the players found seats, Barnett announced that he was going to hand out the awards that many of the Wildcats had earned in 1995. Some of the players exchanged glances. Barnett does not normally dwell on the past. As Barnett called the players forward and handed them placards proclaiming their accomplishments, the 70-plus players in the room cheered and chanted their teammates’ names.

The players roared as Barnett waved the placard representing his 17 national coach-of-the-year awards. Then, as the applause subsided, Barnett walked to the side of the stage, stopping in front of a trash can marked “1995.” He took an admiring glance at his placard, then dumped it in the can.

As silence descended on the auditorium, Barnett stepped to the side of the stage. Then, one by one, the stars of the team dropped their placards on top of Barnett’s. Soon, the trashcan was overflowing with the laurels of the previous season.

Barnett had shouted his message to his assembled charges without uttering a word: What you did in 1995 was terrific, lads. But look at the calendar. It’s 1996.
 
 Northwestern won the Big Ten Championship again in 1996.

Christians should be people who live in the present not in the past. Over the entrance of the Archives Building in Washington, D.C. is the phrase, “What is past is prologue.” Paul Tournier, the psychotherapist, wrote, “We must always be letting go . . . leaving one place in order to find another, abandoning one support in order to reach the next, turning our backs on the past in order to thrust wholeheartedly toward the future.” That’s true for us, too. To win our battles, to overcome our impossible situations, to face an uncertain future, we have to let go of anything that will prevent us from marching bravely into the future.

This is easier for us to undertake when we understand the next point in God’s motivational talk.

B. Affirm the presence of God (Josh. 1:5).

As God spoke Joshua trembled at the thought of leading a military campaign against a powerful foe. God reminded Joshua that as he let go of the past to venture to battle, he would not go alone, neither would he fight alone. A higher presence would accompany him.

God said, “I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or forsake you” (Josh. 1:5). Just as God had been with Moses, he would be with Joshua, and so he will be with us. Just as he did not forsake Moses, he would not forsake Joshua, and neither will he forsake us. In the darkest night, he is there. In the severest battle, he is present. In the most difficult task, he will not abandon us.

It’s not the nature of God to desert his people when he gives them an order, a task, a leading, even if the situation seems impossible, by human standards. It is then, even more so, that the presence of God is felt most strongly.

Impossible situations are like mountains. They loom large invoking feelings of smallness and inadequacy on our part. Often not only do we compare ourselves to the men and women who are behind us, we also compare ourselves to the tasks that are in front of us. To both, we often sense that we do not measure up. 

God is the great equalizer. His presence makes the difference in accomplishing impossible tasks.  A shepherd boy named David can face the huge hero of the Philistines because God is with him.  Daniel is safe among the lions because God is with him. Three young Hebrew captives in Babylon survive the fiery furnace of the king because God goes through the fire with them. A handful of uneducated Christ-followers communicate the good news of Jesus in the hostile city of Jerusalem and ultimately turned it, and the world, upside down.

How could these and more fight the battles of a lifetime? God was with them. 

A little boy attended a concert of Ignance Paderwski, the famous Polish concert pianist and prime minister. Before the concert began the boy wandered up on stage and was playing “Chop Sticks” on the great Steinway that sat on the stage. When the curtain was drawn for Paderwski’s entrance the audience eyes the boy and started yelling for him to get off the stage. Paderwski observed what was happening, quickly walked to the boy and whispered, “Don’t quit, keep playing.” As the boy continued, the great master put one arm around him and filled in a bass part and with the other arm around him he filled in the melody. Together, the great master and the young novice mesmerized the audience.

When I think of that story I think of God’s presence in my life. So often I feel like that little boy.  I grew up very shy, withdrawn, and extremely introverted. I came into this world as a part of a packaged deal. I have a twin brother. He has always been extremely extroverted. He was my mouthpiece for the first part of my life. 

I was called to the ministry while I was in high school. When others heard about this calling they said, “You mean his brother, don’t you?  Rick is too shy to be a preacher!”

While I have overcome much of my shyness and feel fairly comfortable around people now, I still face an impossible situation each week. It is standing before my congregation to preach. But each time I stand before an audience to deliver God’s message I feel the arms of God wrapping around me, comforting me, encouraging me, reminding me of his presence in my life, saying to me, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.” I trust God to help me in accomplishing my impossible task.

C. Rely on the power of God (Josh. 1:5).

Joshua was in alliance with the ultimate superpower. God himself. God said, “No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live” (Josh. 1:5). No one! Why do we doubt God’s power? Why do we question his strength?

The following poem reminds us of the unlimited reach of God’s omnipotence.
Got any rivers that are uncrossable
Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through
God specializes in things thought impossible
He can do what no other power can do.

Again, why do we doubt the wonder working power of God? Consider just a few of the “famous last words” that might have been said from bystanders in biblical times:
“An ark? But it’s never rained before.”
“We’ll trap ‘em at the Red Sea!”
“Virgins don’t have babies!”
“You can roll the stone in place now. That’s the last we’ll see of him.”

The historical record of Scripture demonstrates again and again that God is not bound by our expectations. We can’t always predict what he will do. He is an awesome God that works in powerful ways.

Fear keeps us from obeying God’s order. The promise of God’s power gets us started and keeps us going. It has been said that courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to walk on in spite of it. That’s what God’s power does for us. It enables us to get started and keep going.

We need to understand that our strength comes from God who never grows weary or faint.  Throughout Scripture we are commanded as Joshua was, “Be strong and courageous” (Josh. 1:6,7,9,18). (Four times God reminded Joshua with the same command. I think God meant it.) “Be strong and courageous” is an impossible command to obey unless God imparts his strength to us. But that’s God’s specialty.  He has tipped the scales in favor of us weak and timid people.  We can try all we want but we have not utilized all the strength that is available to us until we draw upon the Lord—the source of all strength. 

A young boy was helping his father bring in some wood for the fire, and he was struggling under the weight of a heavy load. “Why don’t you use all your strength?” the father asked.

“I am,” the little lad responded, feeling dejected.

“No you’re not,” declared the father, “you have not asked me to help you.” 

The father reached down and lifted up both the boy and the log in his arms.

D. Never underestimate the potency of action (Josh. 1:2-3).

With the past dealt with, and the future promises of God’s power, the present is the time to act. In a manner of speaking there is no past, there is no future, all we have is the present. What will we do now?

Procrastination is the deathblow to moving forward. “I’ll do it later after I get organized.” “I have been rejected so many times I can’t try again.” “If I can’t do it perfect I won’t even start.” “I don’t want to start that now because I don’t need the extra work.”  These are all statements of the procrastinator. They never accomplish their task because they never get started.

Joshua, I’m sure, had a few comments of his own. “We have wandered around in this desert for forty years, what’s one more day?” “We’ve got sand in our sandals from all the walking.” “God, it’s time for me to retire, to settle down, to take it easy, to leave it to the young folks, to get comfortable.”

Enough idle talking. Enough lethargic wandering. Enough worn out excuses. Now is the time to act.

God said, "Moses My servant is dead. Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites. I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses” (Josh. 1:2-3). Notice, the promise did not apply to sitters and waiters—only to those people on the move. Unless Joshua and the Hebrews moved forward, they would never accomplish the task that awaited them. Insecure as he must have felt, he had to get going for the impossibility to become a reality.

Chariots of Fire won the top film award in 1982. It was a story about two runners who were determined to win. Harold Abrahams was a Jewish student and Eric Liddell was a Scot. Both won gold medals at the 1924 Paris Olympics. One scene in the movie depicts Abrahams as being incredibly discouraged and wanted to quit after he lost a race to Liddell. He blurted out to his friend, “I run to win. If I don’t win, I don’t run.” To which she angrily replied, “And if you don’t run, you won’t win.” He ran again. And won.

The point: Inactivity never accomplished anything. 

Conclusion: Churchill said, “Wars are not won by evacuations!” Individual believers and churches don’t make a difference by being content with the status quo. We, too, must move forward.

To move forward we must step out even though our minds and emotions may be saying hold back. Here’s where faith comes in. Faith is more than belief.  It is more than mental assent.  Faith is action. It’s getting in the game rather than watching from the sidelines. God knew that many battles would have to be fought in order for the Israelites to possess the land. But the first battle was in moving forward. Remember, wars are not won by evacuations. And now was the time for them to move forward and claim what God had promised them so many years before.

Inadequate as Joshua felt, he took action. In spite of the dangers ahead, he moved forward and received the blessings that awaited him. There are blessings that await us, but only as we take the steps of faith.

The Patrick Overton poem says it best:
 When you walk to the edge of the all the light you have
 And take that step into the darkness of the unknown
 You must believe that one of two things will happen:
 Either there will be something solid for you to stand on
 Or God will teach you how to fly.

As the story of Joshua unfolds we discover that Joshua and the Hebrews took that step. It was their finest hour.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill stood behind the podium of the House of Commons on June 4, and sounded a sober note of reality. No victory could be claimed. “Wars are not won by evacuations!” he admonished.

Exactly two weeks later, on June 18, England braced itself for the inevitable Battle of Britain—Hitler’s invasion by air. With the English people prepared to fight for their national survival, Churchill addressed Parliament again. His words called for ironclad courage.
Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. . . . Let us, therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say, “This was their finest hour.”

That’s how wars are won. Victory necessitates that we fight on with undying, inflexible resolve.