“When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword. Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?” He answered, “Truly I am the commander of the Lord’s army. Now I have arrived!” Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground and asked, “What does my master want to say to his servant?”” Joshua 5:13-14 NET https://bible.com/bible/107/jos.5.14.NET

Everyone wants to know whose side the Lord is on, but the Lord asks us whose side we are on? Most translations literally transcribe the Hebrew so that the answer from the captain of the Lord’s army is ‘neither’ or ‘no’ to whose side is he on. Because the Lord did help Israel, this Bible translator made the response from the captain neutral. This translation furthers the misconstruing we do so often of God and His purpose for our lives. We did not invent God to help us with our lives when they become too difficult for us to handle. God created us to serve Him and do His will on earth as in heaven. We are God’s servants He is not our servant. While God is humble and gentle, and He certainly came to serve us as our Savior, He is now the risen Lord of lords, King of kings, Who is to be feared, loved, worshipped, and served. God appears to be on our side when we are on His side doing His will for His glory on earth. When we are following Jesus He is near but His call is to follow Him. He is not following us to do our bidding by making our lives more pleasant or successful. God has called us to carry our cross daily, the surrender of our lives in purpose and will to Him in order to embrace His purpose for us, the establishment of His rule upon earth as it is in heaven. Our mission is the Great Commission, and by embracing this assignment, we will find the Lord to be a very present help in our lives for accomplishing His purposes.