The Battle is Not Ours

“This is what the Lord says to you, ‘Do not be afraid and discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s’ ” 2 Chronicles 20:15.

On the one hand my reaction to this verse in scripture is “Can I get an amen?” and then in the same breath, I feel defeated. Because we all see the vast army, we see what we are up against. How do I use my God given abilities to fight the good fight while simultaneously letting him fight my battles? When most people see the army they are up against, they do not want to hear “it’s going to be okay” because a lot of times, it doesn’t feel like it’s going to be okay. When I sit with these women and their children are away from them or their husband isn’t coming back or their mother died, it feels trivial to simply say “it’s going to be okay.” It doesn’t feel genuine and I don’t believe that’s what Jesus would say. I don’t think He would say that to the women in Uganda or the women in the States or the women all around the world. He wants our emotions and our hurts all the while providing us with a peace that passes understanding. In ways I am more of a broken person now having lived in Uganda, yet the beautiful picture of Jesus is that I am more whole because of it.

Living here has given me an even bigger heart for the people that are my neighbors back home. If anything, I thought there would be a bigger divide in my heart. Living in Uganda is the simplest and most complex portion of my life (to date) and living in the in between and the tension is where I am in this season. I am learning that the battle is not mine to fight. Most days it feels like we are up against a vast army, and you don’t have to live in Africa to feel that way. Whether it is a difficult boss, a tragedy in your family, or simply just not feeling connected to God, we all have our armies we are up against. Most days I’m somewhere between not enough and too much. Once we get to the end of ourselves, God can move. In this particular part of scripture, they still had to face the army but they had the assurance that God had already won. They did not know the outcome yet they fixed their eyes on the only one who sits on the throne. I am learning to lay my burdens down at Jesus’ feet and I’m getting better about not picking them back up. Day by day we are learning and growing... aren’t we all?

I see the lives on the line in the spiritual realm

I see more distractions but the same battle back home I see the battle is not against flesh and blood

I see division and bitterness as schemes of the Enemy

But God is greater still

But God’s ways are higher

But God leaves the 99 for the 1 But God says “It Is Finished”

Let God do what only He can do.

He can make a way but we need to give him space in our life to do it.

One of my favorite quotes as of late is by an English Missionary, C.T. Studd who says, ’Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop, within a yard of hell.’

Let us be a generation that runs rescue shops within a yard of hell.

Even when the money isn’t there

Even when death surrounds

Even when we are in the wilderness

Even when we haven’t seen the fulfillment of His promises

 Even when we feel alone

Even when ....

The Gospel remains the same for all peoples

It must - because the truth came to set us free

And He is in the business of reconciling His people back to Him

Take a minute and read Oswald Chambers devotion for October 17 in “My Utmost for His Highest” because it has changed my posture.

Prayer is our power. Prayer is the point.