The Battle is the Lord's

 This battlefield is empty now. Where once raged the ravages of war, there is an eerie stillness and quiet. The only sounds are those of the wildlife which now inhabit this hauntingly beautiful, bittersweet land.

We cannot liken this battlefield to the spiritual battlefields of our lives because our enemy never gives up, never surrenders, is ready to ambush when we least expect it.  However, the Bible gives us a strategic battle plan.

*We are to use the sword of the Spirit--the Word of God.  When satan tempted Jesus in the desert, Jesus said each time, "It is written".............and proceeded to quote passages from the Bible.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.  Hebrews 4:12, 13

*We are to trust and cry out to God to save us.

They cried out to God in the battle. He heeded their prayer, because they put their trust in Him. 1 Chronicles 5:20 NKJV

*We are to stand firm behind the barrel of God's faithfulness, justice and wisdom.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.   Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.    Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.     And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV

We see from the scripture above that we are to take up the shield of faith and to pray. I think an element of praying is to praise.   We see the salvation of God in the twentieth chapter of II Chron. because the children of God obeyed him and went out singing and praising.

Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.”   After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:     “Give thanks to the LORD,    for his love endures forever.”   As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.  portions of 2 Chron 20

This post is much longer than I had intended for it to be.  But if even one of you has a battle in your life today and is helped by this, I am grateful.

I guess what I want to know and want you to be reminded of is this:  The battle is not ours.  We are not fighting flesh and blood but powers and principalities--our battle is spiritual and God wants to fight it for us.

Rest in Him today, dear friend, knowing that He is going out ahead of us and will conquer every enemy of ours if we let Him.

Photos:  taken at Pea Ridge National Military Park, November, 2011