The Battle Belongs To The Lord, But You Still Have to Show Up

The battle belongs to the Lord but you will still have to show up.

As I have been reading through the Old Testament there have been numerous times when the Israelites were outnumbered and God was the power behind their defeat of the cities and armies they battled against..

One of the clearest pictures of this is in the battle of Jericho found in Joshua 6 . If you went to Sunday School as a kid this was one of the coolest stories but for those who do not remember the details I will summarize them for you. God told Joshua that the Israelites would take over the city of Jericho. However, this city was fortified and strong. There were walls surrounding it. It was protected. The Israelites knew they could not fight them on their own and I’m sure they were intimidated even thinking about trying.

God gave them specific instructions as to how they were going to win this battle. The instructions seemed odd, but the Israelites followed them. They were told to march around the walls of the Jericho for six days in a row and the priests were to blow trumpets as they marched and on the seventh day after they had completed the march around the city they were commanded to SHOUT- Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!
Joshua 6:16b

The Israelites shouted on the seventh day and the walls of Jericho fell down, they were able to take over the city. They burned everything and only spared Rahab and her family and they saved the gold, silver, iron and bronze for the treasury of the Lord.

The battle of Jericho showed the power of God in a very literal way and I would like to make some parallels for you to consider in your own life. First step: this would be a good time to purchase a trumpet if you don’t already own one….

Life is full of battles and walls. There are walls you cant break down. There are walls of addiction, walls of anger, walls of sadness, walls of depression, walls of anxiety, walls of unhealthy relationships, walls of guilt, walls of shame, walls of loneliness, walls of mistrust, walls of hurt, walls of abuse, walls of loss, walls of regret,  walls of divorce, walls of broken hearts….friend, the list of walls that surround your heart and soul are real and they are fortified. Like Jericho was to the Israelites, there seems to be no way to break down the walls and sometimes it seems there is no way to win the battles we face.

The good news is God is going to win the battle for you, like He did at Jericho, but you still have a part in it. The Israelites actively followed the Lords commands. So as you face whatever battle you are fighting, you also have weapons and an active role. The first thing that I want you to do is Pray and pray fervently. It was the Levites who were blowing the trumpets before the Lord. The Levites were also the ones who would offer sacrifices and atonement for the people in the tabernacle. They were set apart by God to be able to approach Him on behalf of the others. However, now that Jesus has fulfilled sacrificial law we can approach the throne of grace with confidence. So like the Levites blew their trumpets, I encourage you, wherever you are now, to blow the trumpet of prayer, and pray for God to break down the fortified walls you are up against.

The other thing they did was march around the wall seven days in a row. Not every hurt and pain and wall is going to fall down in one day. It may take a while to heal from. It may take days, months or perhaps years in prayer to God to break the wall down and for victory to happen. We need to be faithful in turning to Him and relying on Him for that victory in our life. As we pray, study His word and worship Him, the promises he has for us will break the heart of stone in our lives and will give us a heart of flesh. He will tear down the stone walls and every wall torn down by God is a miracle and you will experience miracles as he sanctifies and restores you.

My personal testimony of a battle won by God was a battle with an eating disorder. I started gaining weight around the age of 8 and comments about my weight started from extended family members and friends. I was bullied and teased and put on a diet by age 11. The enemy began a 20 year long lie that I was not good, worthy, or beautiful because of my weight. I struggled with overeating, not eating and every other form of an eating disorder inbetween. I realized after reading books and watching videos that much of an eating disorder is a mental disorder to fill emotional pain as well as control something in your life when you do not feel in control. I read self help books and sometimes the concepts worked but the enemy kept lying to me. Finally when my tool box was empty and I was still suffering with lies- lies like you shouldn’t eat, you don’t deserve to eat, you are only going to gain weight, you won’t be able to lose the weight after you have kids; I was tired of the fight… I was pregnant with my youngest daughter Savannah and still battling these thoughts. I knew I needed to eat to sustain her and myself, but the enemy was warring in my mind. I was trying to resist Him but the emotional torment was too much to bear. I could not take another moment of it and I prayed and cried on the way to choir practice while listening to the song ‘Do it Again’. God says if you have faith the size of a mustard seed that you can say to the mountain move from here to there and it will move. I asked God to move the mountain, because I did not have any strength left to fight. I was weak from the battle. God healed me that day. I have never actively suffered since that moment. He assured me that I am His child. He loves me and He defeated Satan’s lies. Gods promises assured me that I was never in control in the first place, that He has always been in control and His way is always better than my way. He told me I am fearfully and wonderfully made and He said He loves me with an everlasting love. He said I will wipe away every tear from your eye and there will be no more crying, death, sorrow, or pain. He told me I need to fully trust in Him because He alone conquers sin. **Also just to add I do not hear God’s voice audibly, He told me these things through scripture**

My emotional pain was healed by God. The years of lies are gone. The enemy still creeps in here and there just to see if He can get at me from that angle again but I recognize him immediately and He has no stronghold in my life anymore. Sin and lies have no hold on me. In the words of my friend Emily: “Dude, You Lost”! Satan is a defeated foe and I fight from a place of victory. I praise God for this miracle of recovery in my life. It is only by His grace, power and love for me did this happen. To Him be the Glory each and everyday. Thank you Jesus.

The ultimate victory of our life was won through Christ’s death and resurrection. Victory begins with the Lord, it begins with him crashing down the wall of sin and He will continue to wage war against the enemy and display victory in our lives. Let’s trust Him to do this with all our hearts, souls and minds. Pray, trust and have faith that God will win the battle in His timing and in His power. Jesus himself was tempted in the desert and was without sin and rebuked Satan. If the enemy tried to tempt Jesus, He is going to try and tempt us. Pray that you won’t be overcome by any battle or temptation. You have the God of angel armies by your side and the Holy Spirit living in you and Greater is He living in you than the enemy of our soul. Don’t be discouraged! Be encouraged! God has given you every tool you need to break down walls and take over the enemy!

The Lord Bless you and Keep You,

Kara

Faith Hope Encouragement