In this devotional from the Joshua series, Pastor Mike Woodruff returns to that charged midnight encounter between Joshua and the pre-incarnate Christ — and zeroes in on the question at its heart.

Joshua asks what so many of us ask: God, are you with me? Are you for me or for my enemies? And the answer — neither — is as jarring today as it was then. Because we want God on our side. We assume He is. We treat Him, if we're not careful, like a flag to wave, a weapon to wield, or a mascot for our cause.

But as A.W. Tozer wrote in The Knowledge of the Holy, what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. If we see God primarily as a divine helper or spiritual therapist, we'll spend our lives trying to fit Him into our agenda. But if we see Him as Lord — holy, sovereign, and wise — we'll do what Joshua did: fall on our face and ask what message He has for us.

Pastor Mike also brings in Abraham Lincoln's famous reflection from the Civil War. When asked whether God was on the Union's side, Lincoln replied that his greatest concern wasn't whether God was on his side — it was whether he was on God's.

That's the shift this passage calls us to. Not from passivity to action, but from planning to submitting. From "here's what I want you to bless" to "Lord, what message do you have for your servant?" This kind of surrender isn't passive or easy — it's active, costly, and foundational to everything that follows.

Before you rush into your Jericho today, Pastor Mike invites you to pause, bow low, and ask the only question that really matters: Am I aligned with what God is doing — or am I just hoping He endorses what I've already planned?

📖 Series: Joshua — A Devotional Study 🎙️ Pastor: Mike Woodruff 📌 Scripture Focus: Joshua 5:13–15

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Are You on God's Side? The Question That Changes Everything