Fighting

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1 Chronicles 7:40 Ready For Battle

All these were descendants of Asher–heads of families, choice men, brave warriors and outstanding leaders. The number of men ready for battle, as listed in their genealogy, was 26,000. 1 Chronicles 7:40

Working as much as people often do, most people are ready to relax. They want to go home, sit in a recliner, put their feet up and relax doing nothing. Or they want to go out and sit by a lake fishing or some other hobby. The idea is to relax and not have to work hard anymore. Very few will look to be ready for a battle.

After listing the descendants of Asher, they are described as brave warriors, outstanding leaders and ready for battle.

Fighting a battle is very seldom the desire of most people. Only a few state that they are ready to fight. Being in a battle is being in the center of a danger zone that can injure or take one’s life. This scares most people.

While many places throughout the world are not going through a physical war, there is still a battle going on everywhere. The dark and sinful forces of this world are fighting against God and His people for the souls of every person.

Believers are in the middle of a battle that is greater than any physical war ever fought on the face of the earth. Each one must be ready to go to battle for their own lives and the lives of others.

In order to be ready for battle the believer must know God’s word to understand what the battle is, who the enemy is and how to win the battle. He must also be praying to seek God’s strength and direction. He must also put on the full armor of God.

The believer must be ready for battle at all times. As a believer, the world is against you. There is a battle for your soul trying to get you to sin against God. You must be ready to fight that battle at all times.

Hide God’s word in your heart to have a sword to fight with. Take up the shield of faith to defend yourself. Be filled with the Holy Spirit to have the power to win the battle. Allow God to direct your paths in fighting this battle.

Be ready to go to battle for your own soul and the souls of other people. Are you ready for battle?

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will allow God to equip you for battle; that God will remove all fear of battle; that you will see God’s victory in every battle you face; and that you will be a brave warrior for God against the evil forces in this world.

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1 Kings 12:24 Obey God And Avoid Vengeance

This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing. So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered. 1 Kings 12:24

No one likes anyone to do anything wrong to them and will fight back very quickly. When something is done wrong, people are very quick to fight back to make things right and get vengeance. All that is seen is the wrong that had been done. Seldom is the greater picture seen.

God had begun to split the nation of Israel. Some of them were willing to go and fight against other Israelites. God told them that this was his doing and for them to go back home and not fight. They obeyed God and went home.

Being wronged by someone can be very painful and draw out anger against them. People will often desire to strike back and get vengeance for the wrong that was done. In the process of seeking vengeance, many will also do something wrong that gets them into more trouble.

Instead of seeking vengeance, believers must be willing to seek God’s direction in what to do. It is God who is truly in control and knows what the next best move is. He is ready to guide a person on the correct path. He sometimes using pain and suffering to bring about His good, such as when Jesus died upon the cross rather than get vengeance.

Taking the path God leads and obeying Him may sometimes seem painful and unfair, but it leads to greater rewards in the end. Kindness and forgiveness may lead others to repentance rather than war, destruction and ultimately death.

There will be times when others will do wrong to you, and you will desire to get vengeance. Before you strike back seek God’s direction by His Holy Spirit. Be willing to obey God and do what His word commands.

Do not allow yourself to be so angry that you take the path that the world will urge you to take leading only to temporary satisfaction, sin and death. God will use all things to bring about His will in your life to give you life that will last for eternity, not death.

How willing are you to obey God?

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will seek God’s direction in your life; that you will obey God over the ways of the world; that God will strengthen you to turn from vengeance for wrongs done; and that God will reveal the bigger picture in your life.

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2 Samuel 2:26 Must You Continue To Fight?

Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their fellow Israelites?” 2 Samuel 2:26

Fights among some family members have often gone on for several decades over some issue when they were young. People hold on to a past hurt and continue to strive to harm the other person in any way possible refusing to let go of the hurt. This occurs in and outside of families. Both sides of the issue refusing to stop the fighting.

Joab and his army were pursuing Abner and his army to kill them. Abner asks if the sword must continue to devour and that it will only end in bitterness. Then he asks for the end to the fighting.

In the same way that the world pursues harming others, many in the church fall into the same pit. Some will continue to pursue another to bring them down and conquer at any cost. There is no stopping in the chase.

After some time, some will succeed in getting their revenge and then all they feel is bitterness and resentment. Pain and death are all that is left, rather than healing and life. Not always is it physical death, but death of relationships and community.

Believers need to be willing to call off the fight, to stop pursuing revenge. Just as Christ forgave all sins, believers need to be willing to forgive and let the past wrongs go. They are called to be ministers of reconciliation, rather than ministers of destruction, division and death as the world does.

Satan seeks to devour, kill and destroy all relationships in any way possible. Christ wants to redeem and restore life and end the sword from devouring forever.

Have you been hurt in the past and are seeking to harm the one who harmed you? This can be with another family member or anyone else.

Instead of seeking to use the sword against that person, choose to forgive and reconcile the relationship. All that revenge will do is bring about bitterness and death in the end. There will be no true satisfaction or life experienced.

Allow God to change your heart as you remember and understand what Jesus did for you in forgiving your sins against Him. Stop the pursuit of death and destruction.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will allow God to guide you in restoring broken relationships; that you will seek to forgive others as Jesus forgave you; and that you will follow the ministry of reconciliation that God is calling you to do.

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Deuteronomy 3:22 God Will Fight For You

Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you. Deuteronomy 3:22

Battles are occurring on a regular basis nearly everywhere a person goes. Most of the time people do not see those who are fighting behind the scenes to win the fight.

Behind the scenes, there are policemen, the military and attorneys who are helping to fight the enemy to help the citizens. Sometimes their work is directly seen, but most often it is out of public sight of most people. Their job is to gain victory over those who are doing something wrong and are an enemy to the general public.

As Moses was telling Joshua to go over the Jordan River and take the lands, he told him to not be afraid of the enemy, but that God would fight the battles for him.

Every person has at least one enemy and that enemy is Satan. Along with Satan is the world that follows him. Satan is out to steal, kill and destroy every person and everything in the end. He will use whoever and whatever he can to destroy anyone who chooses to believe in Jesus.

Believers not only have the enemy against them personally, but this enemy is against those whom they need to be a witness too pointing them to salvation in Jesus. God desires that every believer to go into the world and be His witness and go into battle against the corrupt systems and ways of this fallen world.

This battle is bigger than any one person, but God goes ahead and helps win the battle. He will fight for the believer and for those who don’t believe to draw them to Himself.

Even though the world is against the believer, he must not be afraid, knowing that God will fight the battle and bring about victory in the end.

You will have troubles, challenges and enemies in your life. The world wants to conquer you and destroy you, pulling you away from Jesus. They also want to destroy those whom God is placing in your path to be a witness to.

Although the battle is great, do not be afraid. Yes, the enemy is greater than you, but not greater than God. God is on your side and will fight the battles for you if you will trust and obey Him with all of your life.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that God will help you not be afraid of the enemy or battles in front of you; that you will trust God’s fighting for you; and that God will give you victory over the enemy in your life and around those you must be a witness to.