Psalms 19:7-8 NLT

“The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.”

 

I know a popular gospel song that says “the battle is not mine, it’s the Lord’s”
It’s a beautiful song but is it FULLY true?

Yes the Lord will fight our battle but does that mean he leaves us with nothing to do as He’s fighting?

We daily see how people lose battles. Lust takes over. Hatred gets stirred up. Death takes another life of a victim who couldn’t live with themselves. In each situation, there is an internal battle raging within people that get covered up by secrecy, isolation, and smiles that continue to hide safely- tormented souls.

Even though, as Christians, we know what the word of God says, we too lose battles in our lives. We’re not exempt from sin and temptation. Just as we’re not exempt from believing the lies that the enemy tells us. The enemy incites us to rebel against God but when we align our thoughts and attitudes with the Lord, peace can be found in and through His word, making each victory sweeter. Yet, there are days when we let our guard down and the enemy sneaks through the window and whispers in our ears words that uproot the seeds God has planted in our hearts. We struggle to maintain that word and our ability to protect what He has spoken is suddenly placed at risk.

 

Which leads me to ask:
What does fighting a battle look like to you on your worst day or best day?

My Answer:
On my worst day, fighting a battle looks like I’m giving up. Sobbing under the covers questioning God and being frustrated at why He’s putting me through so many tests.

On my best day, fighting a battle is being a champion of my faith. Seeing the tests from a distance and having exceeding joy because I know I will pass it with flying colors!

(Yes, these are two extremes but my worst days don’t happen as often as my best days because I’m growing in my relationship with the Lord.)

Our relationship with the Lord is EVERYTHING and if you don’t abide in His word, then you will struggle a lot more than you’re meant to.

You see, I don’t want a daily dose of the word, I want to be immersed in it! I want it to be like perfume radiating off of my being, as people catch wind of it from a distance!

Yet even though that’s my desire, my soul battles with restlessness. I often lack patience. I get upset when I don’t understand. I, at times, want to jump in the driver seat and just floor it because it would make me feel like I have control lol. However, this is what brews and stirs up some of the internal conflicts in my life. Everyone does this in some way or form but by choosing to submit to God’s word (both biblical & prophetic) we learn how to better accept what He has spoken and to understand it to be the absolute truth!

 

*Yes, God’s word calls for an attitude adjustment. It calls for rehab from a way of operating that is venomous to our spirits. 

 

How do I fight my battles?

•By worshiping the Lord, staying true to His word and understanding that He has the final say in ALL MATTERS.

•By being consistent and praying.

•By being a follower, who follows Christ- UNASHAMED

•By becoming all that God has created me to be, understanding that I WILL face trials and I WILL fight an invisible enemy but always remembering that He that is within me is greater than he that is in the world….which makes me a Conqueror, a Victor, His Special Possession- one of the many that He Loves.

 

*You see part of fighting your battle means that you have to say “Yes” and come into agreement with God before you see a thing come into full view.

Example:
I recently spoke to a young lady and she wanted everyone to come up with a declaration about their lives and the only thing that kept hitting me over and over again was that

“I’m a visionary and I will no longer delay what God has placed inside of me to do.”

(I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve cried over things that God has shown me but made me WAIT to see it come to pass.)

Most people would never know that I’ve waited for 10 yrs to do Uniting The Generations. This was an outcome of a vision that God gave me, of people from diverse backgrounds and ages coming together to learn from one another through conversing. I thought this dream was dead and gone. I let this idea go because I couldn’t see how it could happen.  I wanted permission to do it. I wanted to be covered by somebody. I wanted affirmation and confirmation over something that God had already spoken to me to do. Back then, it wasn’t time. But in the Fall of 2018, it was birthed out and lives are being touched in every meeting. No one knew it was coming (You see, I got the vision right but the time of its delivery was incorrect. I didn’t even know that seed was still growing in the ground, but God did.)

 

*His word. His way and His timing!

 

Another example:
When my older sister got married, most people don’t know that the Holy Spirit told me that Kevin & I would be the ones to marry them. I didn’t know how that would happen. They had their plans. They had a couple of ideas of who they wanted to marry them and spoke to me about their options. Meanwhile, I had to sit there, with a word in my pocket until God confirmed that very word to them. I couldn’t force it. I couldn’t hint it. But I had to remain quiet for about a year, while God was still working within this situation.

My battle was not believing we were already qualified.

So yes, I tried to pass the job off to others. Yes, I questioned God’s word but when the time came for us to walk down that aisle and take our place in destiny we were ready. We were prepared because we had to say “YES”  to God way before that actual day of promise came.

 

*Many of our battles deal with time, some with our own desires. But the battle only rages inside of us because we refuse to fully submit to God.

 

He desires so much for us but when we keep straddling with one foot on the side of trusting him and the other foot on the side of doubting him we become split, stuck in a position where He only gets half of our dedication- which promotes indecisiveness and stagnation. We have a resolution, but we refuse to stand by it (Trust Him and Obey).

 

*God has expectations of us and He expects us to Be Still, Get Out of the way and at times Fight alongside Him.

 

I continue to fight my battle by not dropping the ball of my faith.

I continue to fight my battle by being a doer of the word and not just a hearer.

I continue to fight my battle by submitting my life into God’s hands and not allowing myself to rebel and pick it back up to do with as I will. Why because I understand He has a plan for my life.

 

So I’m to trust it.

I’m to believe in it and to rely on it, even when I don’t understand.

 

*Our faith should make us well, instead of making us anxious.

 

Philippians 4:6-9 NLT
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

 

God’s peace was with Jesus even as he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness….even though he had to fight his battle alone he knew the word for himself, which made him armed and dangerous! His answers flowed from His knowledge and understanding about God, and because He knew His word, the enemy couldn’t trip him up!

 

Matthew 4:1-11 NLT
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

 

Test 1– During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

 

Test 2– Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ ” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the LORD your God.’ ”

 

Test 3– Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the LORD your God and serve only him.’ ”

 

………….Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.”

 

(Side note: some of the demons in your life don’t go away because you don’t know how to address them…. we treat them more like friends than foes. Let’s learn from Jesus’s example and begin to do what He did!)

 

What I take from this for myself is… IT’S OK TO SHUT IT DOWN WHEN NECESSARY!!

 

Test 1 Response– I will choose to feed on what matters- which is the word of God. I won’t feed on what the enemy has to offer, instead, I will refuse it, because it’s nothing in comparison to what my heavenly Father has in store for me.

Test 2 Response– I am enough, and I am a storehouse of all that God created me to be. I will not place myself in a position to go through tests, trials, and battles that were not meant for me to go through. (I don’t have to do tricks to prove who I am or my capabilities. I am still becoming.)

Test 3 Response– Everything in this world will pass away and I will finish my race.  So nothing my eyes see here on this earth is worth separating myself from the love of God. My worship, loyalty, and service belong to Him and whatever He wants to do with it…….eternity awaits me and so does my crown!

 

In short,
If I should receive, then I will boldly receive what God wants to give.
If I’m to be tested, then it will be in the way God designs and plans to correct, discipline and grow me.
If I’m to be shown and desire anything, let it be the glorious vision of eternity that awaits the body of Christ.

 

This is how I fight my battles by understanding what Jesus prioritized…

 

I don’t know where you are in your walk with the Lord but I do know that we all face battles. However, when you can begin to center your mind on what God values and silence those areas that concern your past, present and future then you will also see a notable difference in how you live your life. Each example listed was used to magnify God and His word more than the situation that was being faced. Yes, we can be sore from some of the things we had to come up against but never lose sight of His word. Though tested, He has already given us the strategy to win.

 

What word is the Lord speaking to you today? Are you bold enough to stand firm in it, still sowing and planting until it comes to pass?

One day it will if you keep the faith.

Always remember that you’re battling for the right to preserve its life and to see it become your reality.

 

So, Fight Wisely…………. and Count It All Joy