Writing concerning the promises of God, Paul said that they are yes and in Him Amen. In other words, when God gives a promise, you can count on it. However, receiving the promise does not mean we should slip into the idle mode. Our text shows how Joshua fought a long war after he crossed Jordan into Canaan, the place we popularly call the land of promise. Our passage tells us that there was no country that entered into peace treaty with Israel except the Gibeonites, and that was by a ruse. Chapter 12 of the Book of Joshua gives the vivid details of how many kings this general had to engage in battle; there were thirty one of them. (Joshua 12:24). This raises a question: Was it not called the land of promise? If God promised to give them the land, why did they have to fight so many battles?

when God gives a promise, you can count on it. However, receiving the promise does not mean we should slip into the idle mode…It is our duty therefore to enforce and effect whatever God has proclaimed.

We must understand that when God speaks a thing, it stirs interest in the kingdom of darkness. Satan will resist everything that is God’s or from Him. His chief aim is to frustrate the word of God and make it of null effect. It is our duty therefore to enforce and effect whatever God has proclaimed. This is what makes warfare inevitable in the lives of believers. We are called to battle in order to attain God’s precious promises. It is in this light that Paul wrote to Timothy, admonishing him not to forget the prophecies (or promises) that had gone forth over him; but to use them as occasion and instrument of warfare. (1 Timothy 1:18).