Some Battles are Yours

Serious followers of Jesus Christ realize that we are in an unseen war with spiritual forces in the heavenlies. Because that is true, we not only need to make sure we have our spiritual armor on (Ephesians 6:10-18), but we need to know when and how to fight.  

In a previous article we examined a time in my life when the battle was the Lord’s and my job was to let Him fight it. The result was a glorious resolution. This time we will look at what needs to happen when God has a part for us to play in the fight.  

I related to you how God saved my job when, unbeknownst to me, a co-worker was lying to my superiors about me and trying to get me fired. God took care of that situation without me doing a thing. Some years later I found myself in the exact same situation and wrongly assumed that God would take care of the problem the same as He did before. But this time the Lord wanted me to act to address the difficulty. I did not, and the result was disastrous.  

Note to self – sometimes God will fight our battles for us and sometimes He requires us to fight. The tricky part is to know which is which. Thankfully, we have the Lord’s promise in James 1:5 that, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” 

Men, if you find yourself in a difficult situation today, don’t assume that God will have you handle it the way He has before. If the Lord fought for you last time, He may want you to trust Him for the battle plan and strength to fight this time. Or if God gave you wisdom and strength to handle the problem last time, He may want you to “stand still and see the salvation of the LORD” this time around.  

The Lord has His reasons for everything He chooses for us and if we are wise, we will seek Him in every circumstance. We know that He will work all things for good in the end; we just need to learn to trust Him. Remember, God is always working in our lives to make us more like His Son, Jesus, for His honor and glory. And isn’t that what we all ultimately want?