I love this image and reminder of the battle and how we overcome the challenges & battles of life.
When we are in the middle of conflict, it’s not hard to remember to cry out to God. THE BATTLE IS REAL AND IT'S WON ON OUR KNEES. Take every thought captive to Christ... right when the thought comes to us!!!
As soon as we cry out to God during battle—whatever that battle may be—the battle becomes God’s and not ours! Our part is to fight, to learn the skills of standing up against God’s enemies, and to use the sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God—Ephesians 6:17). As we trust God and thrust our sword, we gain ground.
All of us need to gain ground in the battle between good and evil.We are all battling something!!! Some of us are fighting for our homes and families. Some of us are fighting despair, fear, worry, or depression. Some of us are fighting to gain confidence. Some are fighting life threatening illnesses that came out of nowhere! If we will only cry out to God during the battle, we will occupy the “land.”
Once the battle is “won,” we must then sustain the victory. We need to keep on crying out and God will keep on giving us victory and peace! Prayer helps us to remember that, above all, the battle is God’s (1 Chron. 5:22)—He will fight for us.
When we are living in fear we are not living the life that He has carved out for us. God gave us Jesus to free us from sin and fear, to teach us how to live in love, so that we could gain unimaginable riches in heaven and live in the best of relationships with Him from this moment onward. When we have illnesses like depression or anxiety, when we’re too scared to leave the house or the words of a friend or loved one cut us deeply – do you think this is the life that He carved out for you? It isn’t. Let's be the same warriors as the picture we see here!!!
God wants us to experience the joy of heaven but also to live in prosperity on Earth too, so with God as our armour, our sword, our everything, why not follow His Word on how we get that and live the life He intended us to live of true fulfilment through Him?
Sometimes we may doubt or fall out of habits that lead us into the presence of God. That isn’t the end of the world because the God we belong to is steadfastly present, ready and waiting for that cry, that prayer, that talk.
He is Ready to take that despair or exhaustion from us and supplant it with joy, after all that’s who He is. As we trust in God and flourish in the sword of His word, we see for ourselves that we gain ground. This isn’t blind faith by any stretch of the imagination ! When we pray and use the power of His word, and give Him all our worries, all our illnesses, our concerns, our children, our lives. What great hands we are in....
Lord, today I am in the middle of a very real battle. I see all the danger and find myself trying to figure it all out. I will choose to cry out to you and let you fight for me. I will keep my eyes on You and receive Your victory and peace. Amen.
