Tag Archives: spiritual battles

Choose Praise

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Psalms

So many psalms are about hardships, enemies and battles, unfair treatment and sickness. But what I find is that most of the time these same psalms have a word of praise, too.

Some remember what God has done in the past, and praise Him for His goodness. Some remember who God is and praise Him because He deserves it. Some praise God for His faithfulness, even if they don’t understand Him.

We may look at our world, the evil, the insanity, the danger, and pray to God that He will intervene, defeat Satan in our midst. I hope we are praying! But let’s not forget an important aspect of our prayers: praise!

Don’t wait until the storm is over, praise God in the rain. Don’t wait until evil is defeated, praise God in the battle. Don’t wait until your loved one is healed, or your wayward child is home, or you are recognized, appreciated, and treated fairly. Praise God today. Praise Him all day, tomorrow, every day. Let you relationship with God be adorned with praise.

We can focus on the negative or we can focus on the Lord and praise Him for who is He and what He is doing. You have a choice today. I pray you will choose praise.

Ebenezer

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I Samuel 7

If you have been a Christian for more than a day, I imagine you have felt the sting of Satan’s arrows. Becoming a child of God doesn’t automatically make Satan write us off. In fact, Satan often steps up his efforts to separate us from God. He is not a good loser.

Scripture plainly tells us we are at war. But Scripture also tells us we who are God’s children through the blood of Jesus are on the winning side. Most of us can attest to the victories over sin we have had along the way. It is, however, a little harder to remember the victories when we are fighting for our lives in the middle of the next battle.

Samuel understood that. We humans tend to have short memories. So, after a decisive victory won by the mighty hand of God – there could be no other explanation – Samuel took a boulder and set it up where the victory had happened. He called the stone Ebenezer which meant – God helped us here.

Whenever the Israelites looked at the stone, they could remember how God had helped them defeat the enemy on that very spot. It would give them encouragement as they remembered that victory.

We who are of a certain age, probably remember the hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Most churches have tucked that hymn away because congregations don’t like to have to think when we worship. (If it feels good, do it). But I want to challenge you to read through the words of this hymn and consider the deep meaning you find there. You’ll have to stop and think. Do it anyway. Here’s what I see in the first verse:

Dear God, the source of every blessing, help me to sing about your grace from the depths of my heart. The fact that your mercy never ends ought to cause me to sing your praises with abandon. Teach me to praise you like the angels praise you. Fix my eyes on your redeeming love.

The second verse begins: “Here I raise my Ebenezer; here by Thy great help I’ve come…”

Have you an Ebenezer? I’m not talking about a boulder in your back yard. I’m not even talking about a cross around your neck. In fact, I’m not talking about any THING. I’m talking about right now, in your heart, is there an attitude of gratitude toward God who has brought you to this moment, God who has been faithful in the past and promises to be faithful today, God who has fought beside you and for you?

Have you that place in your heart where you can be reminded of His goodness and protection in your past, and let that be an encouragement in whatever battle you are fighting today?

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) (emphasis mine).

That giving thanks in all circumstances is your Ebenezer.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7) (emphasis mine).

Again, that thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness in the past is your Ebenezer. Raise it up. Draw strength from the truth of it. God has been faithful and will be faithful still. Remember:

Up to this point the Lord has helped us. (1 Samuel 7:12).

A Season For War (2 Samuel 11-12; I Chronicles 20)

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There is a phrase in both 2 Samuel and I Chronicles that caught my attention this morning: “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war…”

Why spring? It sounds like the start of baseball season or something. I did some research and this is what I found:

Spring was the ideal time for going to war because, first, the rains were over which meant the soldiers could march on solid and dry ground. There was grass in the fields, fruit on trees, and ripe corn, food for both soldiers and horses. There was wisdom in the timing.

Now, soldiers could suit up at any time of the year. Not all battles were fought in the best circumstances. But if a king could wait until spring before going into battle, he had a better chance of success because his soldiers didn’t have to fight the enemy AND the elements.

I am reminded of Paul’s second letter to Timothy when he told the young preacher to “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season…”

We, like the Old Testament soldiers can suit up at any time. In fact, we are told to put on the armor of God every day. We are instructed to always be prepared to give an answer for the hope we have in Jesus. Our battles, and our opportunities to share the Gospel, don’t just come at prime time. We are told to be prepared to preach the Word at all times.

But I am challenged today to plan my battle strategy, to look for the signs that tell me the time is right to go to that person God has laid on my heart to confront their sin in order to lead them to their Savior. Sometimes we might be tempted to barge in when it’s convenient for us, only to be met with the challenge of fighting the elements of distractions or resistance or misunderstandings while we are trying to fight the battle against sin.

I want to wait for God’s timing, because He is preparing the ground for battle. I want to recognize His season for war against Satan, and be prepared to fight the fight He is leading. Not my season. But His.

May I be prepared every day by putting on the whole armor of God, by being ready to give an answer, to share the Gospel whenever the opportunity presents itself. May I be sensitive to God’s timing. And may I be a faithful and obedient soldier so that when God says, “Charge!” I’m the first to go.

What Do You Do When You Lose? (Judges 19-21)

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There is so much in these three chapters, some of which can get my blood boiling. I have to keep reminding myself that this was a time when Israel had no king, and everyone did as they wished.

But today I was encouraged as I read. Israel was going to war in order to purge the evil from among them. Yes, they were going to destroy their brothers the Benjamites because that tribe was evil.

Israel went to the Lord, and God told them to go to war against the tribe of Benjamin. Israel acted in obedience to the Lord. But the first battle saw 22,000 Israeli soldiers cut down. Did you notice 20:22? I love it!  After this devastating loss, the men of Israel encouraged each other!

They went to the Lord and wept, and asked Him what they should do. Again, God said, “Go to battle.” The next day Israel attacked Benjamin and this time 18,000 Israelites died. After this second defeat the Israelites did something that speaks to me.

They went back to the Lord. They wept, fasted and prayed. They offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. A third time God told them to go into battle, but this time He added:

tomorrow I will give them into your hands.

Sometimes we might think that if we are obeying God, if He is in our situation, that ought to guarantee a victory. And often it does. But what happens if we don’t get the results we are looking for? What if we fail miserably?

Do we quit? Do we wash our hands of God? Do we grumble and complain? I think we can learn something important from the example of the Jewish army here in Judges.

The Israelites encouraged each other after their defeat. Sometimes we need our brothers and sisters to be that encouragement for us. Sometimes we need to hear someone tell us to hang in there, to keep going, to not give up. Sometimes we get our strength when God uses the voices of His children on our behalf. And, friend, each of us can be that to a brother or sister who is experiencing defeat. Let’s not be quick to condemn. Let’s be quick to encourage that struggling saint to do what Israel did next:

The Israelites when to God. Not just once. Not twice. Three times. They went to God and kept going to God. They weren’t one and done. And God rewarded their faithfulness by giving them the final victory.

Dear ones, let me encourage you today. You may be fighting what seems to be a losing battle right now. We are all in a weird situation because of this virus, and some of you have lost your income, maybe your health, and maybe you have lost loved ones because of this disease. Others of you may be fighting a spiritual battle with sin. I don’t know.

But hear me say, hang in there. Go to God and keep going to Him. Storm the doors of heaven, barge into the throne room. Ask God to reveal sin in your life, and be quick to repent of it. Ask God for direction, then obey Him. Trust Him. Yield to Him. Don’t tell Him what you want done, be sensitive to what HE wants done. Then do it.

You might not get a victory after the first battle. Let each failure draw you closer to Him. Let each defeat cause you to trust Him more.

I know God will bless you as you obey Him. And, folks, the victory is the Lords! Don’t forget whose side we’re on. The truth is…

WE WIN!