THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S… But we still have to fight!
THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S…
But we still have to fight!
But we still have to fight!
By Mary Ann Wray
“You will not have to
fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance
the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be
afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.” 2 Chronicles 20: 17
“But David thought to himself, “One of these
days I will be destroyed by the hand of Saul. The best thing I can do is to
escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will give up searching for me
anywhere in Israel, and I will slip out of his hand. “So David and the six
hundred men with him left and went over to Achish son of Maok king of Gath. David
and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and
David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of
Nabal. When Saul was told that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched
for him. Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let a
place be assigned to me in one of the country towns, that I may live there. Why
should your servant live in the royal city with you?”So on that day Achish gave
him Ziklag, and it has belonged to the kings of Judah ever since. David lived
in Philistine territory a year and four months.” 1 Samuel 27: 1-7
In the first scripture Jehosphat was instructed not to fight
but take his position in worship and as a result he would see victory. That is
just one strategy in battle. However, in a different account found in 1 Samuel
27-30 we see David fleeing for his life because of Saul’s jealous pursuit
against him. However, David wasn’t going to sit back and ‘relax’ once he
retreated to Gath. He was a warrior at heart and born to defend the weak. We
saw this character trait back in the days when he tended his father’s sheep
against the lion and the bear. He was the one they called upon to fight a giant
who no one else dared to confront. David grew confident in the Lord by learning
and gaining skill on the back side of a sheep pasture with a sling and a rod
and no one to teach him but God. God truly chooses the foolish things to
confound the wise!
We see in 1 Samuel 27 that David joined forces with Acish, a
prince in Gath. Acish gave David Ziklag as his own territory as a result of his
faithfulness to defend this ally. There came a day when the Amalekites came
against the Philistines but David was not allowed to fight. As a result Ziklag
was taken by fire along with David’s wives. In Chapters 27-30 of 1 Samuel we
see the complete story and a great example of a warrior assisting an ally but
being refused by the ally’s commanding officers. That seemed to be the pattern
with David. You either loved him or hated him. He was useful to those facing
attack but to those whose ego outweighed common sense, he was despised or
rejected because he was a powerful Jew. He was definitely discriminated against
because of it.
As a result of this refusal, they all suffered loss. After three
days, David went up to see his burned city of Ziklag and learned his wives were taken captive. Seeing
the fire and destruction, David inquired of the Lord as to whether or not he
should go and take the city back and the Lord gave him the go ahead…
“Then David said to Abiathar the
priest, the son of Ahimelek, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him, and
David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this
raiding party? Will I overtake them? ”Pursue them,” he answered. “You will
certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue.” 1 Samuel 30: 7-8
When the scriptures say the battle is the Lords' it doesn't
mean we don't fight; it means that we partner with Him as He instructs and
victory is certain. As soldiers of the cross there are things we have to engage
in to see victory manifest. We are co-laborers with and in Christ. We carry out
the orders of our Commander. We don't wrestle flesh and blood. We can't sit
back and let the devil run rough shod over our churches, families, leaders,
community and say, "The Battle is the Lords," and escape to Never
Never Land. We do need to still our hearts to hear His voice, but He WILL give
specific instructions as to what to do based fervent spiritual prayer and subsequent
action of attack for a given situation. That's ONE reason why we need to pray
in tongues: to get the mind of God and pray HIS mysteries so we’ll know what to
do and not to do. (Romans 8: 26)
We can't afford to be conscientious objectors and disengage
in the battle because we want "peace". It doesn't work that way. If
the battle is the Lord's and it is, that means we DO what HE tells us to DO,
HOW HE tells us to DO it. He’s the Commander in Chief, not us. However,
depending on the battle at hand, there may be a period of wrestling before we see
the victory manifest. We don't put the weapons down to rest until HE says to.
Then after that wrestling and win, there will come the time for another round!
That’s how it is saints. The Kingdom of God suffers violence, and the violent attack
it by force. Therefore, we MUST be fervent in our faith! We must stand
together. Because of this constant barrage by the enemy against everything that
is God we MUST pray for one another and stand together! Without unity in our prayers and action against
the enemy we can’t and won’t win. The enemy’s strategy is to divide so he can weaken
and conquer us before any more souls are snatched out of his kingdom.
God also tells us that those who are strong need to bear the
infirmities of the weak (Romans 15: 1). How do we do that? We do that through intercession for
them because they are too weak to fight for themselves. When I ask
for prayer it is because I am asking you to help bear my infirmities ....vice
versa. We can’t be so proud to believe that we are strong all by ourselves and
will never need the help of another armor bearer. By the way, an armor bearer
is not about carrying my suitcase, pocket book or Bible; it's about engaging in
the fray through prayer with someone else in their struggle against
principalities and the stratagem of the enemy. He may be fighting against their
marriage, very life, call, ministry and family! I'm amazed at some responses on Facebook when another
brother or sister is under siege by the enemy and asks for prayer because they
feel weak.
Scriptural platitudes don’t
cut it....fervent prayer and standing WITH another in faith WILL! There’s no
place for Job’s comforters when you’re overwhelmed and feeling like you’re about
to be wiped out but seeking prayer support-not a sermon. When people ask me for
prayer I’ll either say, “You got it” or “Praying” period. Then I’ll pray,
sometimes right then, or if I can't or don’t feel led to pray at the moment, I’ll take
it to the Father the next chance I get. I may follow up with them but most of
the time they’ll call me back thanking me for the prayers and proceed to tell
me what God did for them. I don't bat 100%, none of us do, but to understand this principle is half the battle right there!
Scriptural platitudes don’t cut it....fervent prayer and standing WITH another in faith WILL! There’s no place for Job’s comforters when you’re overwhelmed and feeling like you’re about to be wiped out but seeking prayer support-not a sermon. When people ask me for prayer I’ll either say, “You got it” or “Praying” period. Then I’ll pray, sometimes right then, or if I can't or don’t feel led to pray at the moment, I’ll take it to the Father the next chance I get. I may follow up with them but most of the time they’ll call me back thanking me for the prayers and proceed to tell me what God did for them. I don't bat 100%, none of us do, but to understand this principle is half the battle right there!
"Finally, be
strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so
that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is
not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil
in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when
the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have
done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled
around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with
your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In
addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit
on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be
alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me,
that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make
known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray
that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." Ephesians 6: 10-20
Peace will finally come when the Prince of Peace returns and
re-creates a New Heaven and a New Earth. Then the lion will lie down with the
lamb but for now the lion roams about seeking whom he may devour and he’s after
God’s sheep. A soul, a life, a God ordained ministry, a family, a culture,
morality are all worth fighting for. When Nehemiah rebuilt the wall to the city
of Jerusalem he gave each of the workers a weapon in one hand and a tool in the
other. Until Jesus returns we will need to fight while we work to advance His
kingdom, defend the gospel and fight for souls. The enemy is violent so we must
be fervent!
“From the days of John
the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence,
and violent people have been raiding it.” Matthew 11: 12
During the days of
Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries
and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of
his reverent submission.” Hebrews 5: 7
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”
Romans 12: 11
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Romans 12: 11
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