Reason #96

In the fall, my mom began praying that the God of my house would rise up and show himself mighty. There was a lot going on in my house, many things I was unaware of until recently. “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:11-12) The place I called home had started to become a battlefield. On a Sunday night in December, I suited up, thinking I would be fighting the final battle. And after 4 hours of waging war, it seemed as if I was going to emerge victorious. It seemed as if all the battling was paying off. I had been fighting a fierce battle and I thought I had won. At last, the victory I had been praying for. Of course, it wasn’t the way I had expected to win but a win is a win none-the-less.

I went to bed unsure of what to do about this new “victory.” So I began praying and began asking, and in less than 24 hours, the victory turned into defeat… or so it seemed at the time. A surprise attack. An ambush.  In every battle, there is a winner and a loser. The interesting thing about how to determine who’s who depends on your perspective of the battle. It also depends whose side you’re on. And the real tell-tale sign of who’s who is the final outcome, which does not always occur immediately after the battle ends. There are always repercussions of a battle that carry forward. So I sulked around for a few weeks feeling defeated. Odds were against me. From the way I looked at it, I was the loser. A hard fight, a valiant effort , a commendable performance, but a loser none-the-less.

And things in my house began to change. Rooms were emptied, décor was switched out, and furniture was moved around. Out with the old, in with the new. The battleground was being rearranged. But there were hidden, left over hints in my home of the war that had been waged. Things buried deep in secret places as not to be easily revealed. Things that would not be easily noticed. Destructive, damaging weapons that were forgotten, accidentally left behind.

All through the battle, He kept reminding me that I am “more than [a conqueror] through him who [loves me]” (Romans 8:37) but it sure didn’t seem like it from my perspective. “For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” (Deuteronomy 20:4) And my perspective started to shift as I began to let Him fight for me and with me.  I realized how much more He wanted to do for me if I would just let Him. I’ve preached this my whole life, but I’ve never been challenged to believe it or actually do it. So I started letting Him fight this battle, my battle, and He continued to rise up and show himself mightier and mightier than ever! And I stepped back and I let Him protect me, I let Him provide for me, I let Him carry me, I let save me. I’m not sure why I’m so surprised He did these things. He wants to do so much for us, if only we’d just let him. So as I let Him work and move, the repercussions of the war began to come about. I had only thought the battle ended in defeat a few months ago, but the results of the war were just starting to emerge and to my surprise, the final result was, in fact, victory.

And this week, the God of my house once again showed His might as He uncovered one of those left-behind weapons from the battle that was waged in my home so many months ago. A weapon left to harm. A weapon that had already caused enough destruction, done enough damage. A weapon that was not hidden from Him. “No human wisdom or understanding or plan can stand against the Lord. The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.” (Proverbs 21:30-31) And as we got rid of that last hidden, secret hint of the war waged long ago, He showed me that I am, in deed, a conqueror through Him. And I think this battle on the home front has finally ended, for it has been won and the victory is His.

#96 – Because the God of my house is mighty and victorious!

“…But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15