Battle Strategy

05/05/23 • 2 min

Communism kept half of Europe locked up for much of the 20th century. For 75 years, the oppressive system took most freedoms away from its ordinary citizens. The political system responsible for tens of millions of deaths seemed almost indestructible. Then, almost suddenly, the system built on restricting freedom just collapsed. The end came so quickly that all the most experienced analysts and diplomats were caught off guard.

How did that amazing turnaround happen? It didn't happen with guns and tanks and planes. Not a single missile silo was opened. Instead, it took the strategic efforts of a religious leader, a Polish labor union activist, and countless regular citizens in countries like Hungary and East Germany, among many others, to expose evil and demand a better way of life.

In a similar way, God defeats evil by showing us a strategy that might go unnoticed at first.

2 Corinthians 10:4 states, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.” Only a reliance on God and continual prayer will win the day. The battles you are fighting cannot depend on vengeance or worldly efforts. We're fighting spiritual battles and conventional weapons just won't work.

As believers, we're called to duty, called to minister to others, to tell others of His Word, His love for us, and His actions to help us overcome. There are many examples in the Bible of people relying only on God for their victory. Not once did they lose. We won't either, if we lay aside our own perceived strength and trust completely in His divine power.

Let's pray.

Father, help us see that our own plans are often wrong. We get into a battle and become blinded by our own strategies or a thirst for our own kind of victory. But the time to fight must come with a commitment to trust in your infinite power, to rely on the victory that only comes through Christ, and to tell others about our Lord and Savior. Bring this to our mind when the battle rages. In Jesus' name, amen.

In a similar way, God defeats evil by showing us a strategy that might go unnoticed at first.

Let's pray.

Previous Episode

Unanswered Prayer

Today we conclude our four-part series on prayer, Prayer 101. The big question for today is, "Does God always answer prayer?"

Since prayer is, by nature, personal, we often want to know how things are going to turn out, even before we start praying. We wonder if God will actually answer our prayer. Maybe not as dramatic as some stories, but still if we're honest, we would like an answer to our prayer. Why else ask?

Luke 18:1 says, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

The fact is, of the 650 prayers in the Bible, 450 of them were answered, at least as the accounts were recorded. Others might have been answered later, but there are indications that, no, God does not always answer a prayer. And this is where our human perspectives can hamper our ability to see the full picture.

Isaiah 55:8 says, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.”

From our limited perspective at this moment in time, we might not understand how or if God is answering our prayers. Remember Job and his friends prayed and tried to figure out for some time just what God was up to in this suffering man's life. The most interesting takeaway from the Book of Job is that, in the end, when God addresses Job, he never once tells him why he suffered.

He basically puts Job in his place by saying that He, God, knows and understands everything, and we obviously do not. It's worth noting that in Job's case, God restored everything to him and more. As we read in Luke 18:1, part of our responsibility in praying is perseverance. We're not supposed to act like children and throw a fit if we don't get our way.

In those times when we think God is slow in answering us, it's necessary for us to have some patience. Nowhere are we promised a quick answer or even an answer at all. Sometimes we just have to have faith that God will work everything out for us.

Let's pray.

Father God, like Job, we want to trust you no matter what. Even if an answer to our prayer is slow, we love you anyway and we thank you that you love us for eternity. In Jesus' name, amen.

Next Episode

A Mother's Courage

She’s not very well known, even though she’s in the Bible.

But Jochebed...who’s heard of her? Raise your hands.

This great woman deserves a bigger story in our culture, because she modeled what it means to act with bravery, and to value all life.

Exodus 2:3 says, “But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.”

Jochebed, you see, was the mother of Moses. Knowing that Pharaoh had ordered all Hebrew baby boys to be killed, she hid her infant son in a basket among the reeds of the Nile. When Pharaoh’s daughter found the boy, she felt sorry for him and took him in; the rest as they say, is history!

It’s been said that the love a mother has for her children is the strongest human bond. Long ago, a slave defied the empire and saved her son. He went on to change history.

Sometimes we just have to step out in faith and be intentional about courage.

Let’s pray.

Lord, this woman inspires us today. Thank you that the story of this sweet mother, Jochebed, was recorded for us. In Jesus’ name, amen.