The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world, on the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.   2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIV

As Christians, our fighting looks a lot different from how the world fights. I have found it to be exhausting without any progress. In 1 Corinthians 9:26 Paul talks about not fighting like a boxer beating the air. We are fighting for the ultimate prize, the prize of eternity in glory with God the Father. Our prize is not some ribbon that will eventually be destroyed by moths or some trophy that will tarnish, but it is a crown that will last forever (1 Corinthians 9:25).

In order to win the fight, we must use the right weapons. Several years back an evil force (remember it’s not the person, but the evil forces of darkness that we fight, Ephesians 6:12)came against me. Now there was, in my arsenal, a very powerful weapon that I could have deployed with a phone call. This would have caused a great deal of anguish for my enemy and would have probably ended the battle or at least the one at hand. Every time I considered deploying this weapon, I heard God telling me to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). God wanted me to trust Him to work all this out. I did and He did. His wrath against my enemy became painfully evident, even to the point where I prayed for His mercy on them.

If I’m going to fight I’m fighting to win. I know that when I fight the way God tells me to fight that I will have victory through Him. I know that I am more than a conqueror through Him (Romans 8:37). I have learned that using the weapons God provides brings me victory.

Now all of this sounds great doesn’t it? But there is one huge problem, the flesh loves a good fight. We want to fight our way. We want all the credit if we win the battle. We want those around us to pat us on the back and commend us for fighting the good fight. Now, your temporary victory may bring you glory and praise. But when we allow God to fight the battle, we receive a permanent victory that brings good for us and glory and praise for Him.

When we fight God’s way, people may think we are a few bricks shy of a load. They may wonder what we are doing. They may wonder why we don’t go in for the kill when we are provoked to the point of madness. If you have ever allowed God to fight the battle for you and have tasted that sweet taste of victory through Jesus, then you never want to fight the world’s way again . You want God to fight your battle because no victory ever tasted sweeter. I am talking about the kind of victory we get when we trust in God. We are told in Isaiah 41:11 that those who rage against us will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose us will be as nothing and will perish.

As a young shepherd boy, David slayed the giant, Goliath with just a slingshot and a stone. Now in all honesty would you have watched a teenage boy going up against a giant and thought that this was the right weapon? He couldn’t even wear any armor because what they provided for him was too big for him (1 Samuel 17).

In the battle in 2 Chronicles 20, Judah faced impossible odds. Not one, but two vast armies came against them. King Jehoshaphat first pulled out the most powerful weapon in our arsenal, prayer. The second weapon which is just as powerful and equally important is faith. We must trust in God to do what is best for us. The awesome thing about this battle is that God told Jehoshaphat and his men that they would not have to fight but only watch the Lord deliver them. The vast armies destroyed each other. All Jehoshaphat and his army had to do was go in and carry out the massive amount of plunder and bring it back to Judah.

Samson had incredible strength, but was taken down by Delilah and his own fleshly desire (Judges 16).

When we face a battle, we must remember three things. First, we must love our enemy. Second, we must pray for those that persecute us (Matthew 5:44) and last but not least, we must trust that God’s got this. The battle belongs to the Lord (2 Chronicles 20:15).

The old saying is that you never bring a knife to a gunfight. My friend, if you are trying to fight this battle using what the world gives you, that’s just what you are doing. Now you may say that David brought a stone to a sword fight, but what David brought was God’s power. David and Jehoshaphat trusted in God and won their battles. Samson let his flesh get the best of him and brought destruction upon himself.

When we trust in God, we are assured victory. We will be more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). We can’t lose.

Have a great day!