Trusting God In The Midst Of The Battle
Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
(Psalm 62:8)
The enemy will always try to draw us into his battlefield through surface skirmishes – entanglements with other people or circumstances. However, when we are close to God, He will lead you to prayer where the battle can be fought from and won. In prayer, God will give us wisdom to deal with every situation, teach you when to speak and when not to speak, when to move and when not to move. If the enemy can get your eyes fixated on one person or on your situation, he’s won half the battle. Christ says to fix your eyes on Him and He will lead you down the right path. The objective of the enemy in getting us to be in battle with each other is to break our rest in a never ending battle that will cause fatigue, worry , fear, anger, embitterment, mistrust, etc. To begin the war, the enemy will place our focus on a person’s every fault and move so bitterness sets in. God places our focus on higher things so when a fault or problem comes up, it’s forgiven, ministered to or corrected and then we move on.
Like an addiction, the enemy will push and nudge our emotions to the point we move in the direction he wants us to go in – anger, fear, rejection, outbursts, etc. Human flesh, if not self-controlled, can be a powerful weapon for any enemy, human or spiritual, to utilize to their advantage to win any battle.
So, how do the tides turn to your advantage in winning the battle in spiritual warfare? By recognizing the tactics of the enemy (John 8:44) wearing your armor (Ephesians 6:10-18) and applying the Word of God:
Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all this through Christ who strengthens me.”
Luke 10:19 – “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Colossians 3:2 – “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Colossians 3:8-10 – “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him…”
Colossians 3:12-15 – “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
We utilize scripture to defeat the attacks of the mind and tear down strongholds. We surrender the battle to the Lord and allow Him to determine the outcome. We put our trust in God when we don’t understand the circumstances surrounding us and wait until He clears the dust from the battlefield and shines His light for us to see just enough so we can see to continue moving forward. In battle, when there is darkness and dust, it can be an enemy’s greatest tool to use in confusing his opponent and sometimes causing them to attack the wrong side.
In gaining ground, we must continue moving forward in our mission while wielding our swords through prayer and scripture. Prayer can be considered calling in the artillery when praying for others, circumstances, etc. Then we allow God to do His job. If the enemy can cut off our communication with God in prayer, then he can halt the process of help to come or at the very least slow it down. The difference between the physical artillery and God is that the physical artillery waits to fire until the coordinates are called in to them. With God, He already knows the coordinates and will fire if the battle becomes too intense, sending help our way.
We see several times in the Bible where God uses a very powerful maneuver to help His armies to defeat their foes – confusion (Exodus 23:27-30; Deuteronomy 7:23) – so that an enemy’s army will attack each other and God’s army can now come in and defeat their enemy as the enemy is no longer paying attention to the outside forces. As the enemy mimics God, he utilizes the same tactic to confuse people which causes them to stop working together and puts their focus on each other which causes them to attack each other. Once no one is paying attention that is when the enemy advances in and takes over. We see it in nations, families, workplaces, schools and even churches.
We need great wisdom and discernment during times of battle and must learn to recognize the voice of God from the voice of the enemy:
God: “Trust in me” Enemy: “Trust in yourself”
God: “Don’t dwell on the past” Enemy: “Remember the past and all of your hurts”
God: “Be united” Enemy: “Be divided”
God: “Communicate” Enemy: “Don’t talk”
God: “Renew your mind” Enemy: “Stay as you are
God: “Vengeance is mine” Enemy: “Get revenge”
God: “Be meek and humble” Enemy: “Meekness is weakness”
God: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” Enemy: “Add more weight”
God: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
Enemy: “Seek the pleasures of the world and feel good”
God: “Get rid of your pride and arrogance” Enemy: “I’m right and my way is best”
God: “Bear each other’s burdens” Enemy: “It’s your problem, not mine”
God: “Be still and know that I am God” Enemy: “You have to do or say something or there will be a catastrophe”
God: “Be anxious for nothing” Enemy: “Fear and worry about everything”
When we do things God’s way, the dust will clear, the confusion will lift and we will be able to see more clearly in order to continue advancing. When we wait upon Him to work, He will fix every problem and resolve every issue. When we choose to unite, it means we put down the enemy’s weapons, pick up God’s weapons and face the true enemy opposing us, Satan, and call in the coordinates to God, our artillery. We then advance forward to carry out the mission of Christ…The Great Commission:
Mark 16:15-16
“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”