Not my fight…

I have been sick most of this week. The worst of my cold is thankfully over now but for a couple of days there I was too sick to fix meals or do much of anything to help around the house. I felt really useless.

Each morning when I wake up I mentally put on the Armor of God and pray the Lord would equip me to fight the spiritual battles that I will face that day. But Wednesday morning I was so sick! I stopped myself during this morning routine, thinking that I didn’t have the strength or energy to fight that day. And immediately the Lord reminded me that it is HE who does the fighting. I have spent the last few days really thinking about this. I am not strong enough to fight against the devil. He is a powerful adversary and I am no match for him. However, the armor of God is for my protection against the attacks of this enemy. It is defensive. The helmet of Salvation - to protect my mind from destructive thoughts. The breastplate of Righteousness - to protect my heart from chasing after sinful desires. The belt of Truth - to hold my protective gear in place so I don’t let my guard down. The shield of Faith - an extra layer of protection to deflect fiery darts and keep them from penetrating my heart or my mind. And even the sword of the Spirit is defensive - the word of God, not my own words, used to defend against the lies being spouted everywhere I turn. The only part of the armor that isn’t truly defensive are the shoes - the preparation of the gospel of peace - moving offensively with a message of peace and salvation meant to prevent conflict, not provoke it.

I have been reading this week in II Chronicles 20 about when the Moabites and Ammonites came to battle against Judah. Jehoshaphat prayed to the Lord earnestly and, because he followed after the Lord as king of Judah, the Lord told him to prepare for battle but that this battle was not theirs to fight but He would fight this one alone. God told them to position themselves and then sit still and see that the Lord would fight and save them. And He did! No one from the enemy encampment survived and not a single soldier engaged in battle - the battle was over before it began.

This account in II Chronicles reminded me of several other similar passages in the Bible:

You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you. Deuteronomy 3:22

The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. Exodus 14:14

for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory. Deuteronomy 20:4

Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. II Kings 6:17

With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. II Chronicles 32:8

And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come.” … Joshua 5:14a

One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the LORD your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. Joshua 23:10

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Romans 12:19

Time and again we are told that the Lord fights our battles for us. He doesn’t need our assistance. He DOES want us to be ready though because He wants us to be strong enough to defend ourselves when attacked. But every piece of defensive armor is provided by God and serves to create a forcefield of protection around us so we don’t have to fight the heavy spiritual battles raging in every direction we face.

I don’t know if I am articulating this very clearly. What I am trying to say is that our battles are fought on our knees through constant prayer. God does the rest. We just need to be still, acknowledge that He is our omnipotent God, prepare to defend ourselves and then watch God work and wait for Him to save us.

Humanly speaking I like to think I have something to offer God and can help in the daily fight. But I am more like a toddler wanting to help my Mom vacuum the house. God thinks I’m cute and appreciates my heart but He knows I am in way over my head and need Him to do it for me.

So I have changed my morning routine a little. I still prayerfully put my spiritual armor on each morning. But now I ask the Lord to go out before me and fight the battles I can’t see or understand. I ask Him to equip me to defend myself and to be in constant prayer in thankfulness for His abundant care and protection.

I am a slow learner. But I AM learning that I truly am incapable of doing ANYTHING apart from my Savior Jesus Christ!

Somehow the combination of MS, menopause and a head cold have finally driven me to a place where I can understand more fully how truly ill equipped I am to fight an enemy that is infinitely more powerful than I am. But I also now more fully appreciate how infinitely MORE powerful my God is - who fights my battles for me and always wins!