If you live long enough and have accepted the invitation to adulthood you will appreciate the fact that not every battle requires your undivided attention. All fights are not created equally so you cannot enter the ring before first understanding the opponent’s strategy. There are battles that choose you, but your maturity must know whether you are attending or declining.
There are fights that turn up on your doorsteps, others knock on your door, some call you on the phone, and the ugliest ones jump out from behind the bushes scaring you to death. Even if you react in self-defense there’s a great chance you can be severely wounded and left to die. All fights are not created equally.
Fights can be costly when words and emotions get in the way. One thing has been proven when it comes to fights – everyone walks away with scars and there are no winners.
The emotional scar is a reminder that you fought in a battle that was not intended for you to fight. Can I say here – It’s for your advantage that you make Jesus your closest ally for moments like these, he gives wisdom and strategy. If you take on every fight – you will weary yourself thin, and the scars are painful reminders of bad choices.
Request God’s wisdom because some battles are bigger than you and you need his peace in the aftermath. Be honest, this is not the first time you were scared, not the first time you cried, not the first time that you were blindsided but God saw it fit for you to survive everything that was meant to destroy you.
God knows how to fight each new battle because Satan must ask him permission before you were even made aware that you were actually in a war. God is your help and your defender. The. Best. Team. to be on – so give God a round of applause for qualifying you to be part of the winning team.
Change the attention from the battle to building up your faith by rehearsing the promises of God. I’ve found that when I focus on the magnitude of the battles, I lose strength and become discouraged but when I refocus on the bigness of my God, I regain my strength instantly. Don’t lose your focus.
It takes enormous faith in God not to fight every battle. Sticks and stones may break your bones but leaning on God wouldn’t hurt you.
When you understand that the war is not against your spouse, or your children, or the neighbor, or your family member but it is always against dirty evil spirits plotting against you – you will hold on to your faith in God. Fear and Faith make you respond differently in a battle, but you can only choose one.
Fear makes you panic and want to fix things right away. Faith makes you discipline yourself and wait on God. If it’s too big, it belongs to God. When the battle chooses you, run to God. You don’t have to show up for every fight. God’s got you and you got God.
It takes godly discipline and wisdom not to attend a fight.
I end with a story I once read: Two blind men were fighting, a third one looking on shouted ‘I am supporting the one with the knife’ – the two blind men stopped fighting and ran away.
Not all battles demand your participation. Both sides are blind, so you need God as the third person looking on.
Amazing Grace 