This Battle Belongs to the Lord

I don’t care who you are, you face battles. You’ve either just gone through one, in the middle of one, or about to face one. There’s not one of us immune to weaknesses, troubles or fears. Whether it’s your journey to be healthier, a financial situation, sickness, or a relationship issue.... you have your stuff. We all do. When we look in the Bible, it tells us over and over to “fear not”. It tells us not to be afraid and to trust God. That sounds easy till you’re in the middle of a situation that has you stricken with panic or hopelessness. Then it gets real. Then it is hard to actually do that. Maybe your battle is an ongoing thorn in your side that seems to follow you around like a dog nipping at your heels. Whether it’s a sudden problem that has thrown itself in your path, or one that’s been hanging around for a while, the battle isn’t yours! Christian, I have awesome news! God is for you! He’s on your side! He’s working things for your good even when you cannot see one good thing in this . I want to share one of my favorite events from the Bible with you real quick. You can find it in 2 Kings chapter 6:8-18.

In this story you will find that the king of Syria was making war against Israel. God had sent a prophet, Elisha to warn the King of Israel of the enemy’s plans. This obviously infuriated the Syrian king and he wanted to hunt down Elisha and get him. So the Syrians surrounded them one night with a mighty army. When Elisha and his servant woke up in the morning early, the servant looked out and saw this vast army surrounding them! There were probably thousands of warriors there with one goal; to get their target, Elisha! You can bet the servant was scared to death! He asked Elisha what in the world they were going to do! Elisha calmly told his servant to not be afraid. Excuse me? Yes, he told the servant that “those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”! It sure didn’t look like that! They were outnumbered! It looked like this was the end of the line. Had Elisha lost his mind? These guys were surrounded by killers on a mission! It seemed hopeless. Then Elisha prayed. He prayed that his servant would be able to see the unseen. He prayed that his servant’s spiritual eyes would be opened and he could see the invisible work of God that was with them. Then, the servant‘s eyes were open! He looked and saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha! He saw the usually unseen army of God ready to go to battle for Elisha! For just a minute, the invisible became visible and it was awesome!

The story goes on to tell us that the enemy was struck with blindness and they were led straight into captivity by Israel! The invisible was more powerful than the visible! This is true in our lives, believers! Oh if we could just see the invisible hand of God going to battle for us! He’s working things for our good! Sometimes, we’re given instructions on steps we need to take in faith, and sometimes we are told to wait. But either way, when we are faced with obstacles and problems, there a lot going on that we can’t see! God is at work! It’s our job to be still, pray and trust! We need to allow for God‘s work in our lives. When it is our reflex to panic, or throw in the towel.. we need to ask God to let us see that He is for us! If God is for us, who can be against us!? Sometimes we have very good reasons to be scared, or worried or overwhelmed... but that’s when we have an even better reason to be confident in the power and provision of our big mighty God! He is mightier than any foe! You can trust Him more than what you see around you and even the thoughts you think! This battle is not yours, this battle is the Lord’s!