Tag: victory

The Lion’s Den

On By vickleaIn Admonition, Scripture1 Comment

I am hazarding a guess that most of my readers, if not all of you, know the Biblical story of Daniel in the lions’ den. When he refused to stop praying to our God, the king fulfilled his decree and had him thrown into a den of lions. The Lord protected him, and the king saw the truth that the Lord God is the only God worth worshipping.

Have you ever thought about the fact that God rescues us daily, too? Sometimes we are rescued from our own foolish choices and sometimes we have to be rescued because we took a step into temptation.

As many times as I have read this verse, I never associated it with Daniel in the lions’ den. We are all facing down the enemy of our souls daily and have to stay alert and resist him. He wants to devour us, to destroy our faith in God and to undermine our trust in the Father. But, like Daniel, we can choose not to be afraid but to continue to make the choices that honor our Father in heaven and show that we are Christians and the victory belongs to us.

We need to always keep in mind that Jesus defeated the enemy, all of the powers and authorities in the “heavenly realm” that set themselves against God and His chosen people. Jesus triumphed at the cross, and we win daily battles by making the choices to stand up for the Lord and not to fear confronting the enemy of our souls. We win, and the enemy knows his time is short. So, be ready to face the lions, knowing that you have already won your eternal life through Jesus!

Greater Is He…

On By vickleaIn Admonition, promises, Scripture, YouVersion App3 Comments

As I sit and write this post, I have been watching the VE Day Celebration in Great Britain on BBC. That is not usually what I do in the mornings, but my husband arose at o’dark thirty and left the TV on and I was drawn into the pomp happening on the screen. I watched the king salute the troops, I watched Kate and Prince William and their family greeting people. Mostly I watched faces. People looked happy and perhaps grateful to be there. Eighty years since this big war was over and the evil Nazi empire was stopped.

It has been over two thousand years since our victory was won and yet many of us (including me) still go around with long faces some days, looking as though we have lost or are about to lose everything. But the victory was ours the minute that Jesus said, “It is finished” and we accepted Him as Lord and Savior. The battle was for our souls, our future with God and we won because Jesus fought for us with His life!

Unfortunately, the battle for our minds continues as Satan wants nothing less than to come between us and God. He wants to convince us that he is more powerful than God and that there is nothing we can do about it. Here is a portion of my devotional from the YouVersion Daily Refresh on May 5th:

Our enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. To pervert, manipulate, and confuse, distract, divide, and disable. 

But God is greater than the doubts that clutter your mind, the enemies that frustrate your plans, the heart-wrenching and even soul-crushing situation that’s currently consuming your thoughts. 

You can fight from a place of victory because the battle has already been won. 

Jesus has already conquered death. And now, while we wait for others to come to salvation and for God to bring all things to completion under Christ’s authority, we can fight with a confident hope.

Knowing that God is greater should give us peace in our hearts and help us to be ready to win the battles here on earth. They are small skirmishes compared to what Jesus had to go through, although to us they may seem like the great battles of WWII. We need to keep a perspective that God is greater and that we can and will get through to the other side. Years of testimonials to this truth help to assuage the doubts and fears; we just have to remind ourselves of our relationship with God and that He is always faithful.

I found this graphic online and I thought it was cute as well as appropriate. I hope you get a chuckle from it and also remember what it says when you face the next challenge. I don’t want to discourage you, but the challenges will come in this life. It’s our response that makes the difference for us!

Victory in Jesus

Ready to Fight

On By vickleaIn Admonition, Scripture3 Comments

At any given moment, we may be expected to defend our faith to others. I have generally found that when someone is asking me a question about my faith, it is not usually because of their genuine curiosity, but rather in order to mock or deride my beliefs. Nevertheless, God wants us prepared because we never know whose heart and lives may be touched by our answer.

One thing that keeps returning to my mind as I go out into the world each day (and I consider the whole world a battleground these days) is that the victory is God’s, not mine. I am a tool in His hands, not the only tool He uses and probably not the best one, but a tool, if I am only willing.

When Joshua was getting ready to go into Jericho and defeat it for the Lord, He met up with a spiritual being.

The commander of the army of the Lord is right there with Joshua. He would not have noticed him if he had not looked up. He didn’t immediately recognize him as friend or foe, but once the man identified himself, Joshua bowed in reverence and asked for the message that God had for him. How often have we faced insurmountable odds or people who present themselves as enemies and we forget to look up and recognize that the commander of God’s army is right beside us? We never go into battle alone!

God is the One who fights for us and He is the One who brings victory. We are expected to show up for battle, ready, with the sword of His spirit as our stalwart weapon. But we can know in advance that God goes with us, before us, beside us and behind us. He fights the battle as we, in obedience, go into a world that is increasingly anti-Christian. We don’t need to fear what the enemy can do to us; rather, we need to be praying for the souls of those we encounter because God will not always be mocked before He takes final action against them.

Our “horses” are ready when we have prayed, hidden God’s Word in our hearts and received the command from our Commander-in-Chief to “go.” His Word goes with us, His victory is assured. After all, the Lord’s army surrounds us, if we will only open our eyes to see.

The General of My Life

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App1 Comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/1201/day/4

As the wife of a retired military veteran, I understand rank and the responsibilities that come with it. Jesus’s being the general of my life means that I can let go and just let Him lead me where I need to go in order to be victorious in each battle. He is in charge and carries the heavy responsibility of getting each of us to the end of our race, whole and totally committed to Him. We have to do our part and follow Him daily, listening carefully as He gives us our “marching orders” for the day. Our job is to be so close to Him that we can clearly hear His voice and follow what He is telling us to do. That will lead to our victory in the world, over our flesh and over Satan. Jesus already won His battle and came out of that grave victorious! Now, He is helping us to win ours.

Red Hot Resistance

On By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/540/day/1

I heard a pastor say once (or probably more than once) that Satan doesn’t bother attacking the non-believers because they are already on his side. On the other hand, those of us who are Christians can sometimes feel as though we are under constant attack. We get through one crisis and the next one is just waiting on the horizon. But there is good news! Have you read the end of the Book? We win! That is why Satan’s desperate ploys to divert our attention from God and get us too discouraged to worship won’t work. God wants us to be prepared for the attacks, so He gave us His Word, but He doesn’t want us to be defeated by them. The trials test our faith but they can’t destroy our firm hold on God unless we let go. Sometimes, I feel as though God is holding me tightly through the circumstances because I get too tired to hold on. Lauren Daigle sings a song called “Hold On To Me” that speaks to my heart when I face that dilemma. I recommend you listen to it with an open heart; at times, all we can do is know that God who began this faith trip with us will see us through to the end. The resistance is real, but so is the victory!

Faith-Full and Wholehearted

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/34

This devotional today really spoke to me, especially since I am feeling every one of my seventy plus years these days. I never thought about the fact that Caleb was in his mid-eighties when he asked Joshua to give him land that belonged to giants. He was still willing to take on great enemies and claim what God had promised, even in his advanced years. (Perhaps at that time, mid-80’s was closer to middle age or a little more, but to me, it seems very old.) God strengthened Caleb, showed him favor and he was able to conquer that land.

How many times have I faced giants in my life these days and just told God that I am too old and too tired to fight anymore? I can tell you honestly, I have not been a Caleb! God is speaking to my heart that He will let me know when it is time for me to rest and not attack the giants that come against me. But that time is not now. So, I want to be more like Caleb and less like me, knowing my weaknesses but also confident that whatever I face, I face with God on my side. I want to be faith-full and wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord who has saved me and who will save me.

Keep Our Eyes Fixed

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

I was impressed deeply when I read Jehoshaphat’s prayer this morning in my devotional. He is pressed by a great horde of enemies since several nations have joined forces against Judah. So, he prays to the Lord and this is part of His prayer.

Sometimes, I feel as though “a great horde” is attacking my soul. Battle follows battle, whether it is for my health, a death in the family, a beloved one’s struggles with their health, or the spiritual battle that I face daily inside my heart as my husband spouts off the latest bad news from our unspiritual and ungodly leaders. All of these together combine to make a great horde in my life. You probably have a number of attackers as well. It is the life we live…God gives us peace in the battles but He does not promise that we won’t have to face conflicts.

What is the solution? Jehoshaphat offers that as the verse continues. We need to admit that we don’t know what to do. Confess to God that we have done all that we know how in our finite minds and yet still we are beset by the enemy and feeling that defeat may be coming. Then, we just have to be still and keep our eyes on God. Jehoshaphat did not say, “Okay, let’s gather a large army against them and all of our best weapons. “ No, he waited and kept his eyes on God. If you open II Chronicles 20 and read it for yourself, it says:

”You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”“
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭20‬:‭17‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/59/2ch.20.17.ESV

These are the words from the Lord to the people as they stood waiting for Him after hearing Jehoshaphat’s prayer. So, how did the victory come?

”And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.“
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭20‬:‭22‬ ‭ESV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/59/2ch.20.22.ESV

The LORD set an ambush against the enemies. He stepped into the middle of the fray and He defeated them.

What can we learn from Jehoshaphat’s prayer? First of all, our enemies are many and powerful. As a conservative Christian, I look around at all that is happening, shake my head and cannot believe that I am still living in America. But if we admit that we are powerless, that God has all of the sovereignty and it is ultimately His battle, then we can rest in His promise to bring the victory. We don’t know how or when it will come, but it is on its way as long as we are waiting on the Lord and admitting that we don’t know what to do or have the power to do it. Then, as we wait, we keep our eyes firmly on the Lord. As the news gets worse, we can believe with our whole hearts that God will not be mocked. Even as the ungodly proclaim their dominion over our nation (like saying Roe v. Wade will be the “law of the land”), God is working behind the scenes to come into the battle and ambush the enemy in an unexpected way. I don’t know how or when this will happen. And I hate that some of our own leaders are enemies of God, but I do know that He wins in the end, so I am keeping my eyes on Him.

Between Joshua and John’s Revelation

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion AppLeave a comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/23

What a great privilege we have to be able to read the entire Word of God and be encouraged by the fact that we know for a fact that God is working out His plan and He will ultimately triumph. Like Joshua, I face many battles of Jericho in my life, sometimes it seems more than others. With me, it has been a battle to continue to have faith for healing when the healing does not come. Nevertheless, God’s Word is true, regardless of my circumstances and one day I will have total victory over this rebellious body of mine. I am thankful to know that Jesus is the Commander of God’s Armies and is returning to lead a victorious people to conquer the enemy of our souls once and for all! I am looking forward to that day and rejoicing that God’s plan is still in place, He hasn’t changed His mind about what He is doing in the world, and we can rest assured that just as Joshua was victorious at Jericho, we will be victorious if we just hold on to the Lord. The victory here on earth may not be what we expect or when we expect or how we expect, but it is coming. We just have to let God be God.

Prayer for Israel, part 1

On By vickleaIn prayer, Scripture2 Comments

Part of my devotional each morning is a study of the Old Testament and our online group is currently in the Book of Exodus. Today, I read Exodus 15 and as I read, the Holy Spirit prompted me to turn some of the verses into a prayer for Israel.

Lord God, I pray that you will once again be the strength and song of your people Israel. I pray that you will grant them victory so that they will be reminded of all you have done for them and will be able to exalt and praise you as in the days in the wilderness. The battle is yours, Lord!

It is you, Lord, who crushes the enemy, the evil ones who destroy, pillage and take humans as hostages. Do not let this evil stand, O Lord, I pray. Stretch out your right hand against this powerful foe and smash them completely so that they may never rise against your people again.

For nothing is too difficult for you, Lord, so I call on your to swallow up the enemies. The Israelites have weapons and manpower, but they cannot win this battle without your right hand firmly holding them and on their side.

I pray for the peace of Israel, Lord, but as they are surrounded by such a great enemy, I pray that they will have the spiritual eyes to see your hand at work on their behalf. I pray that their leaders will have the wisdom to listen to your battle plan and that you will grant them victory and peace again in the land that you have given them.

In Jesus’s Name. Amen.

My Thoughts on a Potpourri of Verses

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

As I read my Bible and devotionals this morning, my mind kept returning to all of the chaos and evil in the world. I sought God’s help in understanding and the hope that only comes from knowing and believing His Word.

Fear tries to overtake my heart because of all of the rampant evil. But God continually reminds me that He is trustworthy and I need not be afraid.

God will always protect me from the evil that surrounds me. I can count on Him to be with me in the middle of the storm.

Our hope lies in the cross where Jesus stated, “It is finished.” He completed the sacrifice for me so that I can be with the Lord forever. Victory is assured…I just have to get through to the end of this present evil age.

It’s a scary thing to contemplate that the God of justice will judge our nations for their wickedness. Refusing to acknowledge God won’t end in anything good for those who turn their backs on Him. I’m blessed to be on the winning side but I am sad for those who flaunt their evil ways and taunt God with their worship of self.

God does not want to destroy nations or the wicked. He prefers that everyone join in accepting His free gift of salvation and come to Him as victorious servants, not continue to be seemingly free evil doers. The second death is the final and ultimate death, the one that determines whether we end up in the lake of fire with Satan or in Heaven with God for eternity. God prefers that we repent but He will not force us to do so.

God gets a lot of the blame for what happens on earth. My thoughts are that people get the consequences that they deserve for their foolish choices. Being angry with God is worthless because in the end, the one who is destroyed is the one who refuses to be wise and repent.

Out of all of my verses this morning, this is the one that stood out to me most and made my heart leap, not necessarily with joy, but with recognition of truth. One day, there will be justice. God’s final judgment will mete out justice to all. The godly will be rejoicing but the evil will be terrified. Sounds fitting to me…and a hope to look forward to. When I was growing up and didn’t know God as Lord, I was frequently bullied. Since I did believe in a higher power, I would pray that one day God would “give them what they had coming to them.” Little did I know that the final judgment is exactly what that will be…God has the final word, so fearing the Lord before judgment day is a must if you want to be in the group that is rejoicing.

Praise the Lord that the victory is already His!