135. The Lord Fights
Deuteronomy 20:4 For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
We all find ourselves in a spiritual war, trying to take, possess, hold on to, live in, and enjoy the Kingdom of God, which lives and rules in our hearts. In each believer there is the Kingdom of God that is being opposed, resisted, attacked by our spiritual enemies. The enemies have strongholds in the soul where the Kingdom reigns. They must be driven out and dislodged by the violent force of the resurrection promise of life, grace and perfect goodness.
In order to live free enough to really enjoy the life of God in us, we must daily drive out these enemies that seek to make a stronghold in the soul. From their strongholds they come out to attack our mind, will, and emotions. They get us all confused, scared, worried, and believing the world’s lies. For this purpose we have the promise of the Lord our God, Jesus Christ, going with us, to fight for us against our enemies and to save us.
The Biblical images of Warfare and Warrior are given to us for a reason. The reason is that God wants us to know that we have the Overcomer on our side fighting for us to overcome and finally obtain the victory. Abraham, with his household of 318 people, defeated the four kings that had taken Lot. Jacob wrestled with God and the Lord changed his name to “Israel,” which can mean “God fights.” As believers, Israel is our name, “God fights for us.” Moses held up his staff and the waters parted, and then closed again to defeat the Egyptian enemy. Joshua (Hebrew name for Jesus) was strong and courageous with faith in the Lord to conquer the Land of Canaan. David the great warrior slew the lion, the bear, Goliath, and the Philistines. Many other Judges, Kings, soldiers and warriors won victories through faith in the Lord.
Our spiritual war is real, and it is serious, and it is for eternity. For this reason, God gives us this promise that we can rely on in our daily struggles: Jesus goes with you, fights for you, and saves you. He is doing that for us every day. He did not go back the heaven and leave us orphaned; He gave the Holy Spirit to live in us, rule for us, and fight our battles. We go forth into the battle every day with our Champion Warrior by our side and on our side. We may not like the image, but it is needful: He Fights!