The Battle We Face

It's been a while since I wrote last and the thing is, God is constantly changing the playing field. What I mean is, God, I feel, has brought us into a season of time where things are starting to change. If you want to think in sports terms, we are in a season of "game changer" moments. This is a season where I feel like the prayer and perseverance toward God in the last several years of Faith Chapel is beginning to be seen completely. God is really bringing us into view of the promised land so to speak. As I reflect on that, it reminds of the battle field that the Israelites fought through in taking the promise land. God brought the people to what He had promised them and they had to rely on Him to win the next battles for them along with the battles that they had already fought in the wilderness. I say all that to say this. As we enter into what God has promised for us individually and as Faith Chapel, we must rely on God as we enter in the battles. Two things strike me about what the Israelites did. First, God won the battles for them. Look at every occasion when God was for them. They won. And the times He wasn't? They lost. It's as simple as that. We must constantly be seeking the face, voice, and presence of our God so that He can be with us. The second thing I notice is that they still had to fight. I suppose you could make a case that if they had extreme faith, God could have always fought completely for them to the point that they wouldn't have even had to go out. But that wasn't the case most of the time. In the majority of cases, God gave them the strength to go and win the battle because He was with them and so I feel it is with us. There are some cases where God takes the battle for us and times when God requires us to fight with His Hand upon us. Here's the awesome thing. We have a knowledge of something that they didn't. They knew God in one way. We know Him in a very special way. Remember this: We march to battle with a greater weapon than mankind has ever known. It is the power of a name. A name that moves mountains, a name that heals disease, a name that restores hearts and gives life....a name called Jesus. He is our not so secret weapon to overcome! So when we face the battles to come, and I assure you we will face them, we can stand strong knowing that our power doesn't lie in ourselves but in the God who already lade down His life for us that we may be victorious in Him! Just keep this verse at the focus of your heart: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Live Victoriously.....