Use Your Sword

"Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” ~2 Chronicles 20:15(b)

“You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” ~2 Chronicles 20:17

In this chapter of 2 Chronicles, Judah began to have revival and turn back to God but came under attack from the Ammonites and Moabites. They were afraid and prayed for God’s intervention, and God answered their prayer. The Lord fought their battle and the enemy was defeated. Our lives can be like that too. When we seek God in a deeper way, God’s enemy and ours, satan, will come against us in an all-out assault to keep us from fulfilling God’s plan in our lives. It can be turmoil in our marriages, our jobs, with our kids, our finances, anything that can affect us to the point we take our eyes off God and try to manage things on our own. When we allow our focus to be taken off God and toward the problems we face, that’s when we lose the battle.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand (Ephesians 6:12-13).”

No matter what goes on in our lives with our loved ones, our jobs, co-workers, friends, church members, or anyone else, they are not the ones we are battling. They may be the ones the enemy uses to derail us, but the one we are battling is satan himself. We defeat him by drawing nearer to God, using the weapons He has given us, which is His very Word. The Word of God, the Bible, is our sword. When we study God’s Word and know how to use it, we can stand against any storm that threatens us. Jesus Christ has given us the victory and will fight our battles for us while we fight them on our knees in prayer.

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).”

Read Mark 11-16

© 2018 Marie McGaha