Cause and Effect
Joshua 6:27
So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.
Consider how differently this sentence would read if the two adjacent statements of Joshua 6:27 were written in reverse: “And Joshua’s fame was in all the land, so the LORD was with him.” Imagine if God’s nearness to Joshua was predicated on Joshua’s charisma or success or notoriety, as if God looked down from heaven, seeking someone to promote and advance, and found this enterprising man brimming with pedigree and accomplishment and potential. And what about us? What if God waited till we had something worthwhile to offer Him before stamping our lives with the ineffable seal of His favor? Oh but the opposite is true! The LORD has been with Joshua all along the way, hasn’t He? Ever since childhood. Even when Joshua was anonymous and unknown and unimpressive. Joshua’s fame in the land is merely an effect of God’s nearness to Him, not the cause.
“Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” our Lord breathed out above the dark chasm of finite existence as He hovered between earth and heaven, and that promise isn’t just for apostles and prophets and church fathers and renowned leaders, but for all of us who believe. Marvel at the truth right now that God is in you, around you, above you, beneath you, before you, beside you, guiding your every step, catching your every stumble, and holding you fast through the topsy-turvy cosmic pilgrimage. It may not seem today in all your striving that those towering fortress walls are falling down around you; it may not feel like that little solitary trumpet bast from your little vocals cords is sending the forces of hell reeling; it may not appear that your mundane, routine, obedient march around Jericho is advancing the Kingdom of Heaven—in fact, the whole thing may seem like an endless merry-go-round—but you’re bearing God’s holy name, carrying His radiant flame into the cavernous regions of hell’s domain, and increasing His fame in a world that keeps heaving all their religious energies onto empty altars.
Forget about fame and fortune and success today, friend, and just abide in the joy of the LORD’s nearness. Live in the first phrase of Joshua 6:27, and let God do what He wills with all that follows.