November 16, 2025 Devo

There’s a great story in Exodus 17. Israel is at war against the Amalekites. The young, brave general Joshua is leading the army into battle. While Joshua is leading the fight in the valley, Moses goes up on the mountain to pray on Israel’s behalf. As long as Moses’ hands are lifted in prayer, the battle goes Israel’s way. But when his arms get tired and he drops his hands, Israel begins to lose. So Aaron and Hur stand on each side of Moses and help him hold up his tired arms. Israel wins the battle, and Joshua and his army are victorious. Then God says something very important to Moses. “Write down what happened, and make sure you read it in front of Joshua.”
God wanted Joshua to be sure to understand who was really behind that victory. It would have been easy for Joshua and his men to walk away from that battlefield believing that it was because of THEIR military skills and THEIR superior strategy that they won that day. But it wasn’t. They fought the battle, but God secured the victory. They certainly had the right to celebrate the win, but they just couldn’t take the credit for it. If they remembered that, they would continue to turn to God as the source of their strength. If they ever forgot it, they would go out to fight relying only on themselves. And the result would be disastrous.
That’s one of the great dangers for any of us who experience success. It’s easy to forget that, though we may get the win, God’s the one who deserves the credit. After all, what would we be without Him? Without God’s help, we can’t be the kind of spouse or parent we need to be. Without God’s help, we can’t overcome many of the challenges that we come up against. Without God’s help, we can’t be the leaders, the pastors, the teachers, or the supervisors we need to be. Yes, we need to do our part. Yes, we need to be giving our best efforts. Yes, we need to be diligent and faithful and stay as sharp and able as we can be. But there are doors that only God can open. There are problems only God can fix. There are people only God can help. There is wisdom only God can give. There are victories only God can win.
The day we walk out of the house thinking we can take on the world with only our own strength, skill, and smarts, we are dead in the water. Like Joshua, we may be pretty good generals at what we do, but the real battles belong to the Lord. So, celebrate your wins. Celebrate the successes you achieve, the hurdles you overcome, and all the victories you get to experience. But before you get too full of yourself, be sure to take a moment, tip your hat toward heaven, and give glory to your Heavenly Father. You may have fought the battle, but He’s the one who wins the war. That’s God’s Word for you today.