Victory or Defeat
depends on who is fighting along side you…
'Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.' Psalms 60:11-12
observation
this isn’t the first or only time in The Bible that it references that God will fight our battles or that we would have victory through Him:
exodus 14:10-31 (snippets) - 10 as pharaoh approached, the israelites looked up, and there were the egyptians, marching after them. they were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 12 didn’t we say to you in egypt, ‘leave us alone; let us serve the egyptians’? it would have been better for us to serve the egyptians than to die in the desert! (worthless humans trying to help)
13 moses answered the people, “do not be afraid. stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. the egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (God with us)
26 then the Lord said to moses, “stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. the egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 the water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of pharaoh that had followed the israelites into the sea. not one of them survived. (God took care of the enemy)
observation continued
2 kings 6:9-18 (snippets) - 12 “none of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but elisha, the prophet who is in israel, tells the king of israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” 14 then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. they went by night and surrounded the city.
15 when the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “oh no, my lord! what shall we do?” the servant asked. (worthless humans trying to help)
16 “don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 and elisha prayed, “open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” then The Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around elisha. (God with us)
18 as the enemy came down toward him, elisha prayed to The Lord, “strike this army with blindness.” so He struck them with blindness, as elisha had asked. (God took care of the enemy)
observation continued
deuteronomy 3:22 - do not be afraid of them; the LORD your God himself will fight for you.”
isaiah 42:13 - The LORD will march out like a champion, like a warrior He will stir up His zeal; with a shout He will raise the battle cry and will triumph over His enemies.
joshua 10:14 - there has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. surely the Lord was fighting for israel!
there are more you can find in scripture - so go read your Bible!
observation continued
love the song ‘never lost’ by elevation worship - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IigZiYgPGT0. it speaks of our God who is always there, always showing up when we need Him, always moving in our lives, always prepared and ready to fight for us. lyrics are below:
miracles when You move, such an easy thing for You to do, Your hand is moving right now; You are still showing up, at the tomb of every lazarus, Your voice is calling me out
right now, I know You're able; My God, come through again
You can do all things; You can do all things but fail; 'cause You've never lost a battle; no, You've never lost a battle; and i know, i know You never will
everything's possible, by the power of the Holy Ghost, a new wind is blowing right now;
breaking my heart of stone, taking over like it's jericho, and my walls are all crashing down
You've never lost a battle, You've never lost a battle, You've never lost a battle, You never will; and i know, i know You never will
application
isn’t it comforting to know that there are times God will fight alongside you, while at other times He steps in front of you because He knows you aren’t prepared, underestimate the challenge, or the enemy is too strong. .
whichever it is, i’m glad that we have victory in Him, in Jesus our Lord and Savior. when it is something we can’t see, we know that He covers us in the spiritual realm too. fundamentally, it is seeking Him, getting into The Word, following the lead of the Holy Spirit, and letting God do what only He can.
prayer
dear Heavenly Father, i thank you that we have already received victory over our enemy, the devil, through your Son, Jesus. in and through Him we do not have to fear, we do not have to run and hide, we do not have to surrender - to the enemy, our doubts, fears, anxiety, etc. you have already won Lord - over sin and death, and in doing so gave us the same in you. i love you, we love you, in your mighty and powerful name we pray, amen!