Hi how are you all today? I am good. My week though hasn’t been so good. But as I was reminded on Friday at life group that the battle belongs to the Lord. How was your week? The weather in my town is getting colder so I think we are in for a colder winter. No snow but windy.
This week I want to touch on the story of Joshua defeating the Amalekites. This happened whilst the Israelites were still in the wilderness, before they reached the Promised Land. Joshua was in the valley fighting whilst Moses, Aaron and Hur were up a hill. Seems a funny place to go in the midst of the battle, but it was very strategic.
The story is found in Exodus 17: 8 to 16. The battle strategy was that Moses would raise his hands towards heaven and they would win. This is a posture of worship. You see when we worship in the midst of a battle, God enables us to be victorious. Why? Because it is not us that the enemy is fighting but God- the battle belongs to Him. We just have to take up a posture of worship and complete surrender to God in the battle no matter how long it takes.
This battle that Joshua was fighting lasted a day. That is a long time to keep your hands raised in worship. So let’s look at the stages in this battle with regards to worship.
The first stage is when a new battle arises in our lives. We are really on fire. We are holding up our shield and quoting the Word of God over that particular situation. We have lots of energy and trust God that we will be victorious in the battle. We are worshipping God like Moses was – in a posture of standing up with our arms raised.
Then we start getting tired. The enemy seems to be winning so we drop our hands and worship ceases. The battle is still there and getting tougher.
We realise that worship and complete trust in God and His Word is the only way to win. So we sit down with our hands raised like Moses did. Our posture has changed but our hands have not. They are still raised. It is okay to get weary while fighting the battle. What is not okay is quitting. If we lose this battle, it will just come again. So strengthen yourself with this – you are on the winning side, God is with you and the battle can only be won through worship and the Word of God.
But what if the battle rages on and there is no end in sight. Do we give up? A resounding no! Now is not the time to give up but continue pressing forward. This stage is where we enlist the help of others. In verse 12 of Exodus 17, it states that Aaron and Hur held Moses’ hands up. Often times we need encouragement in the battle. Someone that is going to stand alongside us and support us through. Notice Aaron and Hur didn’t tell Moses to quit or what he was doing was useless and he should give up. No they came to stand beside him and offered him support. Worship was required and they played their part.
When you have a Word from God over your battle it is not time to quit but to hang on. God gave people to each of us as a gift to provide support and encouragement in those tough battles.
So today if you are facing something hard, find out where you are in the battle – stage 1,2 or 3. Adopt the strategy mentioned above and don’t quit. Something to know is that the battle can be won in all three stages – it just depends on how big the battle is and how much blessing is waiting for you on the other side. Battles are not meant to break you but to strengthen you. God never will leave you nor forsake you. You have got this with God.
Have a great week and keep living the life God intended for you.
Bless you
Karen
Living the life God intended 