Competition

Jos 5:13  And then this, while Joshua was there near Jericho: He looked up and saw     
right in front of him a man standing, holding his drawn sword. Joshua stepped up to him 
and said, "Whose side are you on--ours or our enemies'?" 
Jos 5:14  He said, "Neither. I'm commander of GOD's army. I've just arrived." Joshua 
fell, face to the ground, and worshiped. He asked, "What orders does my Master have for 
his servant?"

Key to any victory that is won in battle, sports or any other endeavor of life is the 
drive to compete and rise above the competition. Then, another important factor in 
accomplishing this is teamwork, and how successfully the right talent, strength and 
ability have been recruited. Finally, motivated by a competitive drive and part of a good 
team, there must be a willingness to do whatever it takes to acquire victory, along with 
diligent demonstration of this desire. 

Largely due to great coaching, our football team in high school was somewhat 
successful, with a state championship and consistent winning seasons. While our wins 
were more frequent than our losses, though, there were some teams that could make us 
look like we had just found out what a football is. Those humbling days gave a deep 
understanding for the one who has lost, and even in our victories I would often find 
myself feeling for the other team as they walked off the field with their heads hanging 
down. 
While it may be good to acknowledge that it's not all about winning, that much 
can be learned through the losses, there is still something within us that wants more than 
anything to win, and we'll try to achieve this in various ways. Before our games we even 
sought the help of God in gaining a victory, as we would all drop to a knee, bow our 
heads and pray. I began to wonder about this prayer, though, after realizing that it was 
prayed before our losses as well as our wins. Could it be that God just wasn't listening as 
much on some days, or maybe we just didn't pray as sincerely as was necessary? There 
was only one team that could walk off the field in victory, and yet both teams had prayed 
for the win. 

So many of our experiences in life are wrapped around competition- who did 
what to who and what they should get for it. While both sides often give a convincing 
case for their "rightness", there is also the devastation felt in the losses that can't be 
denied. There is often identification with the loss, with a perception of self as a "loser". 
Legitimate victories are won and enemies are put in their place, but where is God in the 
middle of all this? If He is really for each of us, why is it that there are only the few that 
get to really experience the victory? All may have prayed the prayer, but the win was 
claimed by the few. 

"Whose side are you on?---Neither"

So Joshua comes to the competition, God shows up, and when asked who He's 
for, God replies that He isn't for either one. What? I thought this was God's idea in the 
first place. Wasn't He the one that told them to go occupy the land? Wasn't He the one 
that said He would go before them and defeat their enemies? In Joshua's response there is 
possibly an answer to be found. Instead of telling God what He should be doing and 
imploring Him to move on his behalf, he instead asked what he, himself, should do. He 
understood that it would never be so much about whether or not God was on his side as 
much as if he was on God's side. God would be victorious no matter what, and in order to 
be with Him in His victory, it would just be a matter of choosing to be on His side. 

If there is ever a question in the affairs of life as to who is right and who really 
has God on their side, there is freedom from this competitive trap in the pursuit of God 
Himself. Instead of frustration with what God "should" be doing, instead of desperate 
prayers for His hand to move, there is satisfaction and fulfillment in moving our own 
hand in obedience to the direction of the Victor. Identification with Him in obedience 
removes the "L" from our forehead and makes it less significant that there be one on the 
foreheads of our enemies. The same victory that is ours can be theirs also. God's side is 
the side that can be chosen by all. 

"What orders does my Master have for his servant?"



9/20/05