Each day that we wake up to serve the Lord, we face the challenges of daily battles. We all have them. The enemy of our soul is trying to destroy us, so Satan is the enemy that we are all trying to ultimately defeat. The truth is that Jesus defeated him at Calvary and that daily we are defeating him in our lives. The final victory will come at Armageddon when the enemy is totally defeated forever. For now, we need to ask God what He wants us to do in these daily skirmishes with our enemy. Does he want us to go out to battle or just rest in him? There is a real difference between just allowing God to act victoriously and our struggling with Satan’s taunts and temptations. In the Book of Job, Job faces Satan head on, loses everything and still does not curse God. Job is a hero of mine because in spite of all of his troubles, he continued to have faith in God. And he was rewarded for his belief because God restored more than he had had before Satan attacked him. Job fought the battle and won! I’m not sure that I could do that, but I do know that in my daily battles, God is enough. The Lord shows Himself strong on my behalf more times than I am probably aware of. But I don’t go to battle lightly. If God says “battle time” then I am prepared, with all of the spiritual armor described so well in Ephesians.

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But there are sometimes that God tells me just to be still, to rest in Him, that the battle is His. That is what happened when it was time for my surgery. I surrendered myself to the Lord and His great power and felt totally at peace. I should have been shaking with fear at the prospect of facing surgery that ended the life of a dear friend; however, I was calm and didn’t even realize it. I was laughing, joking and talking to the pastor and his wife and my spouse. Before I knew it, the nurse anesthetist came in and told me it was time for me to go, so off I went. I should have felt anxiety after the surgery, knowing that I face months of a very restrictive diet. But that has not been a problem for me. I just look at the daily diet plan and go with it, thanking God for whatever new thing I can add to my diet daily. One new food a day until I am back on a regular diet. First, I added a banana. Next was fish and next was noodles. So, I’m recovering slowly, but I’m recovering. Job got everything back in an instant; I’m not expecting that to happen with me because God prepared me for this battle. I met with doctors and nurses who told me that it would be a slow recovery. Nevertheless, I am still wearing the armor of God and fighting my battles daily. Do you know how many commercials on TV are for food? And they are all foods that I cannot have. (A good reason not to watch TV. I do, however, enjoy Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy each evening and just suffer though the food commercials). God continues to tell me to be still and to rest in Him. This is not my battle. My battle is to get stronger again physically, to let my digestive system recover from the trauma and to follow the instructions of those wiser than I, i.e. all of my doctors and clinicians. What battle are you facing today? Surely not one like Job, but one that may rock your world. No matter what you are facing, God will take control and fight the battle beside you or for you. Our part is to pray and ask Him what our role in the battle should be. Do we fight or do we rest? Ask Him. He will tell you. Just remember to always have your armor on because Satan is constantly looking for your vulnerabilities. Be wise and don’t let him find any! Blessings!

“Battles” by The Afters