“And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so will the Lord do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. You must not fear them, for the Lord your God Himself fights for you.’” (Deuteronomy 3:21-22 NKJV)
The Israelites had to learn two things. One was that they could not assume God would go to bat for them, and two, that God would go to bat for them.
When they first entered the land God promised them, He taught them to seek His direction in all things. Just because He gave them a certain battle strategy for one battle did not mean they should go ahead with the same strategy for the next battle.
He also made it clear that they could not expect Him to help them if they had sin in their midst. Disobedience refocused His attention. When they sinned, He became more concerned about their godliness than their victories in battle, spiritual or otherwise.
At the same time, they needed to learn that He would help them. Instead of fearing their enemies, God wanted them to know that He would fight for them.
I am so like them! Challenges are supposed to make me trust God, but I tend to take matters into my own hands, or I run away from the problem. Fight or flight. I find it difficult to trust an invisible God with in-my-face, visible problems.
Yet He tries to teach me the same things, and promises to fight for me. Sure, I must keep my life clean, and I must, like the Israelites, seek His will in every situation, but I must never forget that God is for me. He sent His Son to die for me, and as Romans 8:31 says, “How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
In spiritual warfare (prayer), if I sin, or do my own thing, or give in to fear, the battle is put on hold. Instead of fighting for me, God redirects His efforts to put me back on track. Through it, I learn that winning the battle depends on keeping my life clean and seeking His will continually. Most of all, I learn that as I pray against evil, God is on my side fighting for me. In spiritual warfare, there is no vacation.
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