​Battle Victoriously

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14

One step forward; two steps back. This was a regular pattern for Moses as he courageously led the Israelites into freedom. He knew in Whom he hath believed, but was leading generations of people who did not see the bigger picture. After finding himself at a dead end with a nation of tired and faithless slaves who were unable to receive the freedom God was offering, I can’t imagine he didn’t want to throw his hands in the air and say, “You’re right, why don’t you all hightail it back to Pharaoh and beg for his mercy!” But he didn’t!  He firmly answered,
“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”  (Exodus 14:13-14)

God had not sent him a memo regarding the “Red Sea Strategy”. Moses had no idea how God would deliver His people with ruthless Egyptian soldiers on one side and a vastly enormous body of rushing water on the other. He knew ONE THING, His God would fight for Him and his God battles victoriously. It is that unwavering stand that holds the battle lines, folks.

We are not always included in the strategic planning, but the confidence we have in the authority of our commanding officer is imperative to hold the line!

As we look back through the lineage of royalty in Israel and Judah through history, there are rulers and there are Kings! Many of the rulers are called out as having done “evil in the sight of the Lord”. When you look at those Kings who made a difference in battle, who were successful and victorious and effective, they all have one thing in common… they honored and obeyed God and took Him into the battle.
For starters, David, before he was appointed king, went into battle against a man twice his size and known for his ruthless ability to conquer. He marched right out telling his opponent he was coming in the name of the Lord Almighty and battled victoriously with a sling and a stone.  Israel did not have tryouts for their Slingshot team, David marched with God and God fought for him.  In fact, battle after battle we see a direct correlation between victory and obedience.  What are the battles in your life? 

Paul specifically tells us in Ephesians 6:10 to “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power” and to “put on the full armor of God” so we can “stand against the devil’s schemes.”  THE STRUGGLE IS REAL! The names and places have changed, but GOD HAS NOT.  He still goes to battle for us. He is not just with us, He does not just lead us, He goes FOR us! Why would anyone want to go into battle without first calling on Him? Yet we do. We all do it, every day! What dead end have you come to? We look at the Israelites and think ‘Wow! Could they have been any more ungrateful or unintelligent?’ They had God rolling out the red carpet, meeting their needs, offering them freedom, but they were whining to go back to bondage.  Do you see a similarity? Let us learn from the generations who have gone before and choose blessings over curses; life over death! Anything worth doing is worth doing right.  We would not choose to go to battle knowing we will be slaughtered, yet we do.  We should not choose to fail, yet we are.  It is time to declare our battle cry! Lord Almighty, fight for ME! Let’s choose to battle victoriously.  

-VLM Staff - MRN