battles

Fighting the Right Way

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I can promise you that God is not going to fight your battles for you as long as you insist on being in the ring.  But that’s what we do, and that’s what we expect from God.  We love the very thought of God fighting our battles for us and alongside us, but that’s not how God fights our battles for us.  God will fight your battles for you, but you have to first get into your ring-side position for that to happen.

Think about it, what happens most often is that we like to put our energy and efforts into the fight, whatever it may be.  It’s hard not to, and it’s in our nature to resist and to engage and to exhaust our efforts in overcoming what’s coming against us, but God waits for us to get it all out and to get completely out of His way before He starts fighting our battles.  God will fiercely fight for you when you get spiritually still before Him.

Psalms 46:10-11 “Be still, and know that I [am] God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! 11 The LORD of hosts [is] with us; The God of Jacob [is] our refuge. Selah”

We all want God to fight our battles for us, but it’s the being still part that we struggle with.  We struggle with being still because that calls for absolutely trusting in God and in His ways.  The best way to be still is to be fully aware of the battle you are in and then stay ring-side in prayer.  God fights for us when we are still in trusting and fervent in praying over your circumstance.  So, learn to be still and pray when the battle rages and restrain yourself when the enemy gives you a wide-open opportunity.  Be still, trust God, and wait for the victory.

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A History of Victories

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Before David was allowed to go against Goliath in the valley of Elah, he provided King Saul his track record of victories.  David didn’t just show up one day on the battle field to fight against the giant who had paralyzed the army of God without first getting some victories that no one really knew about.  Here is what David said to King Saul to convince him he could win the championship match against Goliath.

“But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 “I went out after it and struck it, and delivered [the lamb] from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught [it] by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 “Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”  I Samuel 17:34-36

Because David fought and killed both the lion and the bear, he saw Goliath as nothing more than one of them.  David had not lived a sheltered life from danger.  Compared to Goliath, the victory over the lion and bear were insignificant, but equally dangerous, yet the consequences were much greater.

Everyone reading this needs to get a track record of victories with God against the enemy.  What you are facing today may be preparation for what you will face tomorrow.  Spiritual victories in our lives builds our confidence to trust in God more and more.  David went after Goliath just like he went after the lion and the bear.  David struck down Goliath just like he struck down the lion and the bear.  Goliath was an imposing threat against the flock of God that David removed and it was all because he had a history with God and completely trusted in God.  It’s time for you to start getting a history of victories with God.  David never mentioned to the King how skilled he was with a sling and stones, he only said, “The LORD will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”  V. 37. 

Get a victory today in the Name of Jesus Christ.  Pray to God and trust in God and then watch God deliver.  Bring your history of victories with God to every battle you face and they will always serve to strengthen your confidence in God.

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Be Strong

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How strong are you?  Back in my high school days we worked out just about every day to build up strength and stamina. Even after high school, I found myself pumping that iron to stay in shape and to maintain my strength.  That’s probably the story of many others, but the older I get, I’ve noticed that even with working out, I can be strong, but not like the days of my youth. Physically everyone loses their strength over time, but that doesn’t have to be the case spiritually. The apostle Paul said, “Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”  Ephesians 6:10. 

We need this encouragement today because of the hostile environments we enter into and the spiritual wrestling required to survive.  Our mistake oftentimes is that we don’t know who our opponent is, so we end up in major conflicts with our spouse, or with our co-worker, or with our neighbors. Our wrestling is with spiritual forces of darkness in heavenly places.  Our wrestling opponent, Paul said, was not on the human level, but the spiritual.  That’s not to say we don’t come into contact with those who come against us, we certainly do, but even then, we must see our battle is not directly with them.
I love watching the Strong Man’s Contest where those massive men show how strong they are by lifting weights, pushing or pulling trucks, and lifting heavy concrete balls.  It’s possible and very likely to be very strong physically, but a weakling spiritually, and that’s why Paul said, “Be strong in the Lord.” To be strong in the Lord means to walk in love and to be full of faith. To be strong in the Lord you have to know the Lord on a very personal level. To be strong in the Lord means you are a person of prayer.  To be strong in the Lord you must be filled with the Holy Spirit.  To be strong in the Lord you must be completely covered with the armor of God.  Let me ask you, what does it matter if you can win physical battles and intellectual debates if you lose every spiritual confrontation?  God has equipped you to win every spiritual wrestling match against your unseen enemy. Spiritually, you are not someone who should be pushed around and knocked down, but it happens, and it has happened to me more times than I want to admit.  So what do you do?  You get back up, and you go again.  You learn the enemy’s strategy and you renew and gain strength in the Lord. You are strong, but your source of strength is not in you, it’s in the Lord. Starting today, be strong in the Lord!

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