Battle Plan

When life heats up and problems seem to be mounting…what do you do? Do you tend to go to the phone or to the throne?

Thankfully I have learned, through experience and doing it wrong, that one word from God is better than 5,000 words from humans. God has every answer to every problem we will ever face. In fact, He is well aware of the problem way before we ever are aware of it.

His battle plan is for us to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand against the devil’s schemes. I have heard it said by many of my mentors (through books) that God didn’t give us armor for our “back sides,” only for our front which signifies that we are to face the battles not run from them. I love the story of David and Goliath. When we want a really good picture of facing our problem/battle without running, we can read how David ran to the battle line to face Goliath. 1 Samuel 17:48, “As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.”

I think that if you are breathing, you are well aware of the battles, temptations and trials of life. As long as there are humans, there will be problems. We all fall short of glory. Sinners who can be saved by grace, if we choose Jesus. But we all know that where there are people there will always be problems/conflict. In Scripture their names often end with “ites” like: Moabites, Ammonites, Jebusites.

For today’s language we can say our people problems stem from boss-ites, co-worker-ites, family-ites, neighbor-ites, stranger-ites, friend-ites. I think you get the picture. Scripture teaches in Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, and against the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” So what does this mean? It means there is an evil that exists in this world, a darkness of evil in the spiritual sense, and you cannot fight against this evil successfully without the weapons of spiritual warfare…not carnal weapons.

Many battles deal with people but what we are really dealing with is spiritual battles. So, in order to have victory, we must fight the way God’s Word instructs…with spiritual armor. Ephesians 6:12-17, ”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 firmly 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” [emphasis added]. If you read these verses carefully, you see nothing about running or ignoring or avoiding; it says to STAND FIRM.

I love reading the battle plan of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. He was facing being outnumbered and overpowered so he sought the Lord. In his prayer he praised the Lord for who He was. He reflected on all God had done in the past and then he petitioned the Lord. Verse 12, “Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking. We do not know what to do, but OUR EYES ARE ON YOU” [emphasis added].

I love this…simply put… but it packs all the power you need. Go to the throne..
…when you are feeling outnumbered,
…if you are judged wrongly,
…if you are accused,
…if you have been betrayed, robbed, cheated, abused…

and

keep your eyes on God!

When the Spirit of the Lord spoke to Jahaziel he said, “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem. This is what the Lord says to you, ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours but God’s’” (verse 15). We learn something from this Old Testament account of battle. Seek God. Put on His armor. Keep our eyes on God. He will lead us in the battles we face. We have to seek Him as well as His written Word. The Sword of the Spirit speaks to us and instructs us on how to battle difficulties.

The battle Jehoshaphat faced was won simply by standing still and singing praises to the Lord. As they began to sing, the Lord set ambushes for their enemies who then fought against each other. Do not think for one minute that today, in 2017, God is not willing and able to “set ambushes” for the enemy. He can and He will. Our job is to armor up, see the Lord and do what He says.

Point of post: When facing difficulty, before you pick up the phone, go to the Throne. God is all knowing He is the one who sees hearts; He is the only one who can change hearts…mine and yours. What a much better idea and better battle plan for that is where true help comes from.

Throne not phone!

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