Are you spending your days in battle?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word battle this way: a hostile encounter between opposing military forces; a usually lengthy contest, struggle, or controversy; a struggle to succeed or survive.
I realize that for each of us, the word battle, can mean different things depending on our individual lives and what each of us is going through. But one thing is certain—if you are like me, the tendency is to try and fight the battles on our own, rather than fully giving them over to God. It’s easy to ask God for help and then just as quickly try and grab the reins away and do things ourselves. Can you relate?If I were to sit down with you over a cup of tea, or coffee, or your favourite beverage, and I asked you what battles you were facing, I’m quite sure that you would fill my ears with all sorts of strife and personal trauma that you are dealing with and fighting against. We all have them, and it’s then we need the support of family, friends, and, most importantly, God, to help pull us through to victory. I have a few nagging battles of my own going on right now that I could share with you, but mercifully, I’ll spare you the details. Let’s just vow to pray for one another and call it a day.
The one thing that you and I can do is trust God and give Him back each and every one of our battles. My wife sent me an awesome Instagram post the other day, featuring a video clip from Pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church, based in North Carolina. He said this about fighting battles on our own, and it’s worth sharing, both for my benefit and yours:
“The battle is not yours; it’s God’s. We say, ‘The battle is the Lord’s,’ but we stress like it’s ours. We say, ‘The battle is the Lord’s,’ but we worry like it’s ours. Now we’ve wasted all of our strength worrying when we could have been worshiping. The battle is not yours. Give it back. Quit doing God’s job for him. God wants his battle back. It’s too big for you. It came up from behind you. You can’t do it. Give it back. You can’t fight it. Give it back. You can’t figure it out. Give it back. How do you give it back? That’s a focus—that’s looking beyond what’s coming against you and looking towards what is in you. To know that greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world. God wants His battle back.”
Read that quote over a bunch of times and let Pastor Furtick’s words sink in. Then turn your focus to Exodus 14, verse 14, and commit the words to memory. This is one Bible verse that I repeat over and over when I need to remind myself that God will fight my battles:
“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (NIV)
“The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (ESV)
“The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” (NLT)
God will fight your battles. Give them back and await your victory!
Paul Smyth
