Spiritual Battles

UV 2853/10000 Spiritual Battles
And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's
2 Chronicles 20 v 15
The Lord fights the battles of His servants, His followers, His children. We only need to take a position of faith, of courage, of stillness in His presence. Often, there is an army or array of forces against us for no apparent reason that we are followers of Jesus though we pose no threat of harm to anyone but only intend to do everyone good including our worst enemies. But the cause is deep and spiritual. But we need not fear or be disappointed that people have turned against us for no reason. We only need to wear our full spiritual armour, hold firmly to the sword of the Word and dig our heels into our faith and hold onto Jesus. For He (Jesus) who is with us is greater than he ( the enemy of all human souls) who is with them. The cross of Jesus is the only instance in history of a fight or battle in which Jesus surrendered to the viles of the enemy as if it was a losing battle to the onlooker and yet came out glorious, undefeated, invincible victor out of the grave, even after a terrible death. We too need to believe that whichever way the fight goes, we will emerge victors in life’s great battles. We should not doubt like John the Baptist if there are temporary reverses. In no battle either side knows who is going to win but in our spiritual battles, we know the end from the beginning and that we will be victors. We are declared victors right from the outset. Such hope will bolster our courage and give us strength or stamina to hold onto our position of faith.
He is the God of impossible odds. The situation may be very adverse and we may be greatly outnumbered but the Lord who has numbered even the hair on our heads is with us. He does not fight with horses and chariots as men do but with the Spirit. With them is the arm of flesh or the army of flesh but with us is the army of the hosts of angels who encamp around us. The Lord can win the battle whether with many or with few even as King Jehoshaphat believed as He led His kingdom to reaffirm their faith in Jehovah. Jehoshaphat’s strategy of spiritual warfare was to lead His people into worship and intercession for the nation. When we praise and worship the Lord and remember like the Israelites how the Lord delivered a nation of slaves from the might of Egypt’s army and the fury of Pharaoh, our fears will evaporate and dissipate.
As we pray, praise and worship the Lord, He will surely strengthen us from within. He will give us the full assurance of victory in whatever battle we are currently fighting. There is a temptation for all human beings to first fight on our own strength and then things are turning out bad, call out for the Lord’s help. We need to resist this and right from the outset turn to the Lord for help. It is not as if there are certain times only when we engage in such spiritual warfare but all the time, every day involves engaging in spiritual warfare as long as we are alive. The end result of every battle is that the victor takes the spoils and is full of joy. Our spoils are our souls dedicated to the Lord and our joy is everlasting and not fleeting.
Prateep V Philip