There’s a War Going On
“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
(Exodus 14:14 NIV)
There’s a war going on right now. And the prize is you.
You can’t see it, but I guarantee you can feel it, just like I can. We feel it when we’re torn between saying something hurtful about someone or praising them. We feel it when there is guilt after losing our temper. We feel it when there is an urge to do something we know we shouldn’t.
It is spiritual warfare that is happening, and it’s happening right above our heads. God is fighting the enemy for both you and I, right at this moment. He’s fighting for our attention, and above all else, our soul.
Do you want to know a something cool about this battle? Scripture tells us “the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). And we already have the Weapon needed to conquer. This weapon is found in His Word (Ephesians 6:11-17).
The sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) tells us through Exodus 14:14 to be still and the Lord will fight for us.
Do we truly believe that? Do we believe the Lord will actually fight for us?
If so, let’s be still. Stillness allows us to focus our eyes on God and compose ourselves, with confidence in Him and His promise of salvation, our protective helmet against the enemy. As believers, we prepare for battle and stand against the enemy (Ephesians 6:11-14). But it is God who is on the front line.
When we are still, we rely completely on God.
When we are still, we allow Him to do what needs to be done.
When we are still, we can focus on Him.
So how do we do this? How do we ‘be still?’ Especially when we’re in the midst of the fight?
- Read the Word.
The more we read the bible, the more acquainted we become with the Lord’s personality and His will for our life. When reading, commit verses to memory. They will pop back up when you need them most. Lisa Allen once mentioned in a lesson how we should “linger” in His Word with Him. I love that. Let’s plan to linger with Him more often.
- Prayer.
Ask God to help you recognize times of warfare. If we don’t recognize a battle that is not our own, how can we properly stand in it? The more we know about Christ (from reading the Bible), the better we will recognize how to handle situations. Then, let’s thank Him for the protective helmet of salvation He’s provided. (Isaiah 59:17).
- Cease from acting outside the will of God.
One of the definitions of this Hebrew word, “be still,” literally means “to cease.” So during warfare, we need to cease from both speaking and acting on behalf of ourselves. We must allow scripture to come to mind and act as Christ would.
Let’s focus on Him and His Word. When we focus on Him, He will focus on us. (James 4:8)
When we believe and act upon His word, we turn our backs on the enemy and march straight toward victory with the Victor.
Let us be the one others say about, “…the Lord is fighting for them…” (Exodus 14:25). And let’s show we believe that. All we have to do is look to His Word, be still, and know the battle has already been won (John 16:33).