Maybe you like a good fight. So, all this talk about spiritual warfare and seeking out an enemy to defeat gets your adrenaline pumped up. You’re ready to go! On the other hand, you may be someone who doesn’t like to fight. In your mind, there’s no such thing as a good fight. Fighting is bad.
Whether you seek it out or hide from it, the spiritual battles come to us. Our spiritual enemies seek us out. We are in a spiritual war and we can learn to fight the good fight or become casualties of war. When we realize this, it is reassuring to know that the LORD wants to give us victory, equips us for victory, and will lead us in battle.
"Let's go across to the outpost of those pagans," Jonathan said to his armor bearer. "Perhaps the LORD will help us, for nothing can hinder the LORD. He can win a battle whether He has many warriors or only a few!" "Do what you think is best," the armor bearer replied. "I'm with you completely, whatever you decide." "All right then," Jonathan told him. "We will cross over and let them see us. If they say to us, 'Stay where you are or we'll kill you,' then we will stop and not go up to them. But if they say, 'Come on up and fight,' then we will go up. That will be the LORD's sign that He will help us defeat them." (1 Samuel 14:6-10 NLT)
Jonathan did exactly what he should have done. He asked the LORD to lead him in battle. He put possibilities out there and clearly communicated how he would take each sign. One sign would lead him to retreat. The other would lead him into battle. He trusted the LORD to lead him in the way he should go in that specific battle. We can trust God in the same way by simply praying what the Psalmist wrote:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalms 139:23-24 NLT)
When we pray this prayer, we are asking the LORD to lead us in battle just as Jonathan asked God to lead him in battle. God promises to lead if we as and are willing to follow. Remember, the LORD is our King who will lead us in battle.
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. (James 1:5-7 NLT)
How about you? Do ask for wisdom to face the struggles you face? Do you ask God’s Spirit to lead you into ways everlasting? Do you trust the LORD to lead you in battle?
