Growing up, I used to hear church people say that the battle belongs to the Lord or God will fight for you, you need to be still. Though these words sounded very reassuring, I didn’t always know their true meanings until I had personal experiences with the Lord about battles.
Sometimes, when God wants my attention on a specific thing, He will show it to me in His Word and anywhere else. He will prepare me for what’s to come long before it happens. I remember a time when I kept seeing “Be still and know that I am God.” Every time I opened the bible it was either this verse or something similar. I thought this was a coincidence; however, God was preparing me for a fight and warning me how to position myself, which was “to be still”. Well, I was so honored and humbled by God’s warning, and it would have been much easier for both of us if I knew what being still meant.
Now, I don’t know about you but when I hear these words “Vengeance is mine or the battle is the Lord’s”, the way I used to understand it was that God would be handling the matter in the supernatural and I would be handling it in the natural because we are a team. So, I thought that putting in my two cents was necessary. I also thought revenge was required as self-defense, and clapping back was a no-brainer. And I considered all these things as partnering with God. After all, we are a team, and victory in battles couldn’t get any easier.
I had no idea that the main reason why we, children of God, are involved in battles is because we belong to Jesus, and our battles originated from a fight that started long before any of us existed. It wasn’t until God opened my eyes to the true fight of faith that I realized that God never asked me to do any of these things that I enjoy doing in battles. On the contrary, God wanted me to fight on my knees. He wanted me to pray so I wouldn’t get in His way by leaning on my understanding and taking matters into my own hands. He also wanted me to pray for my enemies that they may repent. And let me tell you, suddenly, partnering with God was no longer fun because it felt like I was going under. So, I thought!
When Jesus says: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” (Matthew 5: 44-45). It almost feels as if God wants us to throw a party in honor of our enemies. How can this be comfortable for people who are wounded and shattered in pieces? However, we often forget that we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies. But against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world (Ephesians 6:12). Does that mean God doesn’t exercise judgment? No, and I have seen God exercise His judgments before, which can be very harsh but just. And we must understand that while God is asking you and me to pray for our enemies, He is giving them enough time to change their ways and switch sides (repent) because judgment will come depending on which side they deliberately decide to stand on.
If your enemies repent, God has just used you as a scapegoat to help save souls for Christ, and God will reward and restore you. But if your enemies refuse to repent, God will exercise His judgment on them, and still reward and restore you.
It would have been unfair and selfish of God if He allowed us to handle our battles on our own because first, they are not against flesh and blood; they are against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, which we cannot even see. Second, God says the battle belongs to Him because none of us was even born when it started. And the good news is the battle is already won; it is finished. All thanks and glory be to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
And if you are still unsure about this, check out the story of Job in the bible. Job had to face heavy warfare that was completely out of his control. He was not aware of the conversation between God and Satan about him; the discussion about his faith occurred in heaven.
Job became a target because of the team He decided to be part of, which was the Lord’s team, hence, he automatically got the victory in the end no matter how painful the battle was; God repaid and restored him because the battle belongs to God.
Sometimes, I know it may feel so depressing when the only things that God is asking you to do in a situation are to pray, pray for your enemies, pray some more, remain silent, and bless even your enemies. God will ask you to do things that seem completely foolish and make you wonder if the battle is truly His because it doesn’t look like He is winning in any way, but somehow, God always wins. So just like I’ve learned, I’m asking you to consider that the war we cannot see with our naked eyes is much bigger than the fight we can see. It’s all about two kingdoms clashing; their weapons are different, and depending on which kingdom someone decides to operate from, will determine the kind of weapons he uses in battles.
Partnering with God is not always as easy or difficult as we make it seem. It requires our willingness to trust that God knows which weapon is best to destroy the kingdom of darkness while attempting to save the souls of our enemies, who have allowed themselves knowingly or unknowingly to be under the influence of the kingdom of darkness.
Today, you might be facing battles that are beyond your control. Whether it’s because you’ve made poor choices, or you might not even understand how you got into the mess you find yourself in. I encourage you to team up with Jesus because He will never leave you.
Obeying Jesus in a situation can do so much more than what many years of clapping back or retaliation can do. His strategy is always the best, it will tear down walls that you never thought could go down. Therefore, go with God always. He has never lost a battle; no, not one. He only knows how to triumph and always remember you’ve already won the fight through Christ.
SCRIPTURES
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10: 3-4
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57
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