Earlier this week I got to talk with a few girls about fighting battles. I shared a devo titled “Worship as Warfare.” It talked about an army from 2 Chronicles 20 that was learning to let God fight the battles they were facing. In a battle that seemed impossible to win, God called them to stand firm as he won the battle for them.
Every week as I pray through what the Lord wants me to share on Feel the Smile I look for him in all the details. I read this devotional Sunday morning, felt led to share it Sunday night, and woke up Monday morning just to read through it one more time. When I read through it for the 3rd time Monday morning I remember feeling so drawn to the passage even though there isn’t this crazy battle I’m fighting currently. I felt the Lord say “Scarlet this battle doesn’t have to be as big as a heartbreak but can be a sign of surrendering your cares to me.”
So in my quiet time Monday I took time to give my cares, give my “battles” to the Lord. To surrender the next thing I was facing to him. To surrender my drive to class, to surrender my upcoming project, to surrender my encounter with people to him and let him do the work.
As I shared about battles we talked about how the word “battle” can be an intimidating word. As an intimidating word it can feel like we should dismiss our issues because they aren’t these big mighty battles like the Israeli people were experiencing. God reminds us that what we care about he cares about too. A big battle for someone else may be a small one for us and vice versa but this doesn’t change the need to know how to fight them.
These “battles” can look like a fight with your parents, a run in with your friend, a conflict with your boyfriend. Whatever hard thing you are walking through right now is your battle and big or small it is hard. I loved reading through 2 Chronicles because this army was facing something big and something that seemed impossible to defeat. I have experienced thoughts and feelings that seemed impossible to beat because of the recurring pattern they follow. The message in disguise here is that we don’t have to worry about fighting a battle that has already been won. We don’t ponder on how to win a battle when we aren’t the one fighting it.
Think about when one of your friends is having drama with another friend. Although you care for your friend and her feelings, the thoughts of “what am I going to say” “how am I going to act” don’t keep you up at night because it’s not your battles it’s hers. This is what the Lord is saying to us. Why walk around living a life full of worry and doubt when you aren’t called to fight the battle.
In this warfare there is one thing God tells us to do. God calls us to stand firm in faith and in his word and the battle is won by him on our behalf. Standing firm in the position he set us in, confident in his word, and full of peace as he wins the war.
So how do we fight our battles? We let God fight them for us. God’s victory is everywhere, on every street corner, we just have to look for it. Every battle that has been won has been won by him. Every battle youre fighting will be won for you. In the midst of our bad thoughts, tough convos, rude friends God is moving on our behalf.
xoxo, Scarlet
Verses to remember
Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours but God’s
2 Chronicles 20:15
Do not be afraid, Those who are with us are more than those who are with them
2 Kings 6:16
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God
Psalm 92:12-13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit
Romans 15:13