The Battle Is Not Ours

We so often want to pick a fight when we have no business ever picking anything up in the first place. We want to take matters into our own hands when it was never a matter that was ours to begin with. There are so many battles that are not ours, that will never be ours, that were never meant to be ours, but sometimes we feel the need to play God and fight for things we are better off laying at His feet and letting the Lord do the fighting.

The battle belongs to the Lord

“...For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” 2 Chronicles 20:15 b

Several years ago my husband found himself being yanked into situation that ended up making national headlines. Yes, I did say national! And while you will never find his name associated with any of the news national news reports, his good name was drug through the mud in so many ways it was ridiculous! Actually, it was beyond mud. Tar and feathers was probably a little more of an appropriate picture of the mess that was being hurled at him on the daily. You see, with mud you can clean that off yourself, but with tar and feathers you need some professional help to clean that mess up. My husband had been blamed for all kinds of things that he never should have been blamed for. We watched people turn their backs on him who in the past, had supported him and it was disheartening to say the least. But through it all my husband remained silent to the finger pointing and accusations that he was being bombarded with. He knew that if he opened his mouth to speak that his words would inevitably be twisted and thrown right back in his face. So, instead of fighting back, like he so desperately wanted to, He laid his heart before the Lord daily!

“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord.” Romans 12:19

God has can sometimes have a funny way of working things out to bring justice to a situation and yet restore a man’s name to an even better standing than it was before the whole thing got started. My husband was not only justified, but praised for standing up for what was right in the midst of extreme pressure. He faced the tar and feather flinging with more integrity and dignity then I had ever seen from anyone.  Did he have moments of doubt? Yes! Was he scared? Yes! Did he worry? Absolutely! Who wouldn’t be when your good name is being ruined? But when things got really bad, all he could do was set aside the doubt, worry and the fears and cry out to the Lord.

“The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10

All we could do in the midst of the chaos to was run to the Lord because we knew that there was protection there! The Lord never backs down on His promises. My husband and I remain grateful that the promises of the Lord do not return void! I know that if my husband had tried to fight his own battle it would only have tainted his reputation more than it already been tainted. In the end we found that the Lord did not forsake. The Lord had gone before him and brought to light the injustice that my husband had seen from the beginning. The Lord used someone else to bring into light the truth. This was what brought the restoration of his good name.

Call to action

Is there a situation in your life that you are fighting with that really should be laid at the feet of Jesus? The battle belongs in the hands of Christ. I want to encourage you to hand over your weapons that you have been fighting with to the Lord and wait to see what He will do with the situation. Stop fighting and start running. Start running into the protection of the Lord. You just might be surprised with how the situation turns out.

Related posts: My Battle Verses

Related Song: The Battle Belongs To The Lord

Lord, thank you for going before us in battle. Thank you that you are willing to fight for us. Help us to remember that there are times when we should lay down our weapons and let you take over our battles for us. Help us to run to you in our times of need rather than running head first into a fight we should not be fighting. Thank you for going before us, protecting us and keeping us. We put our trust in you today knowing that you are more than able to bring victory to our biggest battles. We pray this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

God Looks At The Heart

“...The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 b

The old saying that states “never judge a book by its cover” holds some weight in the body of Christ as well. As human beings, we have a tendency to look at the outward appearance of a person and can miss the beauty of the human heart entirely. I for one am guilty of judging a person by their “cover.” If we take a look at scripture we see that I am not the only one who has stepped into the area of miss judging based upon what my eyes have perceived.

The poor widow’s offering

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44

In the natural, It is easy to think that giving more monetarily is always better, but this is not necessarily the case. The rich individuals in this passage would have been better off keeping their wads of cash instead of displaying their “generosity” for others to whisper about. These rich individuals were more concerned with the way they appeared to others then they were concerned with the attitude of their own hearts. Jesus saw right through their “appearance of holiness” only to notice that they came up quite short in the humility department. The point of this section of scripture was not bigger is better, but rather a soft and tender heart will always get the attention of Christ, and honestly, that is worth more to Christ than 100 wads of cash any day of the week!

Jesus anointed by a sinful woman

“When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:36-50

While the Pharisees were known for being a group of overly judgmental people in their day. I’m not so sure too many of us would have reacted much differently to this woman. This woman is referred to as a “sinner” in scripture, in other words, she was a prostitute, and a social outcast. So, imagine the look on Simon’s face when Jesus rebukes him for pointing the finger directly at her sin. Simon is no different than many of us, we look at the sin rather than the human heart that is desperately trying to do the right thing in the presence of Christ. Jesus recognized what Simon did not. He recognized the sweet and soft attitude of her heart. All Simon could see was her sin. May we be reminded of this story when we want to quickly point the finger at the sin rather than be willing to humble ourselves and look at the broken heart longing to be healed.

The underneath
It is so easy to point out the sin in the lives of others. It is often much easier to see the sin then it is to see the heart that desperately needs Christ underneath the seemly thick layers and layers of sin. I guarantee that underneath it all is a human heart that is longing for answers, and longing for connection. That heart may not even realize that it is longing for those things, but God has wired every human heart to long for answers and too long for connection. People will often hide their questioning and lonely heart behind a facade of pride and ego, a facade riddled with an independent spirit that gives the appearance of having it all together and needs no help from anyone, a facade that in the eyes of everyone else seems under control. But inwardly the heart is longing for something with purpose, something that is not so empty and meaningless. This is often where we as humans miss it. We are so quick to look that the facade and not at the heart that is crying out for freedom from this vicious cycle. Pointing the finger at the sin is not going to make that person want to give up sinning. All it will do is drive them further away from the God that we proclaim to be loving. Our witness will be ruined when we point at their sin rather than point at the loving God who created them. When we point out the sin we show our lack of love and are seen us as a hypocritical Christian. When we point towards our savior people see the love of Christ rather than us.

It is always better to leave people better off after meeting us then they were before they met us. If they walk away from their experience with us feeling as if they have just been put through an interrogation session, then we can forget about ever being able to introduce them to the true face of Christ. Christ is not an interrogator. Will the holy spirit convict the heart of sin? Absolutely! But we must always remember conviction is not our responsibility. That responsibility belongs in the hands of Christ.

Now, I realize that some of you are probably asking about Galatians 6:1?

“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.” Galatians 6:1

What do we do with someone caught in sin? There are several things we need to understand about this verse. First, Paul was writing to the church in Galatia. He was addressing Christians, those inside the church, not to those outside the body of believers. He said “those who live by the Spirit” not those who live by the world. Second, he very clearly stated to “restore that person gently.” We are not to put them through an interrogation process and make them feel as if they were the scum of the earth. Lastly, we are to “watch yourselves, or you may be tempted.” Now, this is not necessarily stating that we will be tempted by the exact same sin that we are “restoring” the other person from. This could be any sin. We should watch that we are not tempted into a place of pride, such as thinking “how could they do such a thing? I would never do that.” Sin has no levels of severity in the eyes of Christ. The very definition of sin is anything that separates us from Christ.  It doesn’t matter how big or how small we think a sin is or isn’t. Sin is sin. It is not big or small in the eyes of Christ. It is simply separating, period.

Call to action

My encouragement to you today would be to try very hard to look past the sin that is glaring you in the face when you look at the lives of others and pray that the Lord gives you the ability to look at the hurting heart that is underneath it all. Behind every sinner is a human heart that needs Christ. When you are having a hard time looking past the facade, the Lord is more than willing to change your heart and mind about the entire situation, but you must ask Him to do so.  Too often we do not receive a change of heart towards people simply because we do not ask God for one.

Lord, thank you for looking past our outer facade and into our hearts. As humans, we so often put on masks and hide behind them in hopes that people will not recognize our true hearts underneath. Give us your eyes so we can see past the sins and mistakes of others and see the precious heart that you have placed within them, the hearts that desire to have answers for the unknown questions, and the hearts that need connection. Lord, give us wisdom when we should restore others and when we should simply place them in your hands for your holy spirit to take control of the situation. We do not have the capacity to change a human heart. So, help us to place others at your feet and leave the changing up to you. Help us to show your love and not point the finger at the sin in their lives.

Change Of Heart

Have you ever asked the Lord to help you have a better attitude towards someone, and for one reason or another it seems as if your prayer is falling on deaf ears? There have been times in my life when I have not had a good attitude toward another person and for one reason or another I was unable to let it go. I would ask God to take it from me so that I could just move on. The Lord never seemed like He was answering that prayer. Those feelings and thoughts that truly needed much adjusting seemed to linger and weigh heavy on my mind, until I began to realize that not only was I having a wrong attitude about the whole situation, I was also not doing anything about it. Yes, I was praying about it, but I wasn’t doing anything in the natural to make the situation better. All I was doing by sitting on my heels was leaving the door cracked open just enough for the devil to have a hay day with my thoughts. I began to realize that when my attitude does not line up with the word, then maybe my actions should. There are times when our  attitude about a particular person or situation will not change unless we are busy about doing the right thing first. Our wrong attitudes sometimes simply need the right actions to follow in order to get us out of the rut we have found ourselves in. God does not always answer our prayers in the way we wish He would. I found that for me, in these particular instances, I was praying the wrong kind of prayer. I was praying that God would just take away those thoughts and feelings. God is not interested in rescuing us from our problems when He knows very well that a heart change will not be a result of that rescue. In other words, why would God deliver us from our troubles only to watch us walk right back into the very same trouble He has just delivered us from? He would much rather that we work our way though a particular situation with his guidance all the while learning from from the situation so that a heart change develops. These types of struggles create in us long term results. We will remember the lessons we have learned in the times of hard work. If God just waved His magic wand every time we wanted delivered from our troubles we would never have a reason to change.

Community and growth

I read something thought provoking lately about how God has wired us as human beings. We are wired for community. We need others within the body of Christ to stretch us and help us grow. Due to the fact that we live in a fallen world, we are going to encounter those who rub us the wrong way, and furthermore, we are more than likely going to rub someone else the wrong way as well. This is the beauty of community. It is in the rubbing that iron can sharpen iron. (Proverbs 27:17) Knives will eventually get so dull they are worthless for cutting if they never get rubbed up against the iron sharpener. This is exactly how God has orchestrated the body of Christ. We are designed to be in community so that we sharpen one another. But like a knife, we must be careful not to cut people. Christ did not call us to cut, but rather sharpen.

 “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

I am learning to be thankful for those around me who rub me the wrong way, because it is in the rubbing that I am seeing the shortcomings in my own life, and the desperate need to lay those things at the feet of Jesus. Without the irritations I probably would not see these areas that need change. Without these areas coming to the surface, why would I ever change? The truth is, I wouldn’t. I can’t lay a sin at the feet of Jesus if I am unaware of its existence. While I could pray the prayer that David prayed,

The Lord would still have to reveal those things so that I could confess them. The only unforgivable sin is the one that remains unconfessed. So, yes, I remain thankful for the times of stretching from those in the body of Christ because I know that God is “working all things together for good.” Romans 8:28

Call to action

Are there people in your life who rub you the wrong way? Try to look at them through the eyes of Christ this week. Instead of letting that person get under your skin, pray that the Lord uses them to reveal in you the things that need placed at the foot of the cross. Once those things are revealed, confess and move on. The Lord does not place difficult people and circumstances in our lives to watch us squirm. He places those things in our lives to watch us flourish and grow. How can you grow from the irritation?

Lord, thank you that you love us too much to let us remain as we are. Thank you for placing in our lives different people and situations that will cause us to grow. Help us to recognize those moments and those people as opportunities of growth rather than moments of irritation. Help us to pray for those areas of our lives that need adjusting and changed to be revealed so that we can confess those things. Lord, we do not want things to hinder our walks, but when they are there, help us to take care of those things quickly. We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

We Were Made For Worship

Did you know there is a right way and a wrong way to worship? Now, before anyone gets all up in arms over this, hear me out. This is not going to be a doctoral debate on whether we should have drums, raise our hands or sit in silence. I believe scripture supports all of those things. Today’s post is about the very core of worship.

Worship is not about us

God created humans to bring glory to His name, to worship Him and to honor Him. If our efforts of worship are rooted in getting something in return, then yes, we are doing worship wrong! If we approach worship with the attitude of “what can I get out of worship today?” then, we have missed the concept of worship entirety. Worship is not about getting. Worship is about giving. It is about the attitude of our hearts. “What can I give the Lord today?” That is the proper attitude of worship, and that is the right way to worship. Worship is and never was meant for our benefit. The beneficiary of our worship is solely the Lord.

Under this same umbrella comes the importance of worshiping the Lord in the manner of which we were designed. God created each of us very uniquely. Not one of us has the exact same likes and dislikes, talents and abilities. So, what makes us think that we're all going to worship the Lord in the exact same way? The truth is, we are not. Since worship is not about us. We should not be worrying about what the person beside us thinks. If God has wired you to dance, then dance. If God has wired you to sit in reverence, then sit. If God has wired you to be face down on the floor, then by all means, be face down on the floor! God will get more delight from the person who worships Him in the manner of which they were designed then from the person who just goes along with the crowd and does what the person beside them is doing just so they fit in. Fitting in is not worship.

Worship encompasses so much more

Worship is not going to church and singing songs. Yes, you read correctly. Worship is way more than songs. If worship solely centered around music, than those of us who are not musically inclined could never worship. Worship is not about going to church and listening to a sermon either. While music and messages are aspects that can lead our hearts to a place of worship, they are not worship in and of themselves. Please don’t misunderstand me here. I am not advocating that we stop going to church. In the contrary, attending our local body  is a Biblical principle we should all practice!  I am simply saying that if these things are our definition of worship than we are seeing God with an extremely narrow mind. We are putting God in the box of the four walls of church, of our music and of the messages. Worship is a lifestyle, it’s every little thing we do to bring glory to our Heavenly Father. Worship can happen at the grocery store just as easily as it can happen in our sanctuaries. Bringing glory to Christ is not confined to a place. Worship is more about the attitude of our hearts then it is about our location. We can worship no matter where we are located. We can bring glory and honor to the Lord at work, at school, at home, in the car, at the grocery store, and even while we lay on our beds at night. Worship should encompass every aspect of our lives and not just our Sunday morning church services.

Worship is emotional

I have recently been working my way through the book “The Purpose Driven Life” and I was floored when I came to the section of the book that talks about our worship being authentic. We must be willing to lay bare our most secret places and express to God how we really feel. God is not looking for some type of religious, going through the motions type of worship. He desires for our hearts to be open and honest, to be raw and real before Him. He wants us to be true to the beautiful intricacies of the way He wired our hearts to worship. I think sometimes we would rather play it safe behind the mask of religion then to tell and show God our true nature, our thoughts, feelings and emotions.

My upbringing taught me that my emotions were unpredictable and therefore are to have no part in my spiritual walk. While it was acceptable for me to show emotions during “praise and worship” at church, outside of this venue the emotional side should be cut off from my relationship with God. Now, I have always had a difficult time swallowing this pill of thinking. Why would the Lord go through all the trouble of making me an emotional being if I am only allowed to show them in isolated circumstances?  If God did not want me to be emotional in my relationship with Him, than He probably wouldn’t have included the book of Psalms in the Bible. Psalms is a extremely emotional book. Wrapped up in its pages are recorded just about every emotion known to man. I always had a hard time understanding the book of Psalms. While there were some wonderful encouraging verses recorded within its chapters, it always seemed like it was entangled with the complaints of David to deliver him from his enemies and avenge him from his foes. After reading “The Purpose Driven Life” I came to view Psalms in an entire new light. Psalms is merely a worship manual for us as believers. And since it includes the broad spectrum of emotions, it is able to teach us about God’s expectations of our emotional side. It was included for in scripture for us to see just how blatantly open and honest our relationship needs to be with the Lord, so that we know that we can and should go to the extremes with the Lord and withhold nothing from Him. What a comforting thought! David did that with the Lord. David poured out his heart in such a way that it was crystal clear as to what was going on in his inner most being. There was no mistaking his heart. And David didn’t sugar coat anything either.

“I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble.” Psalm 142:2

God doesn’t mind our complaining to Him, especially when we are being honest about where we are at. Our open and honest heart before the Lord is what God desires. The Lord would much rather hear us be honest than have our vague and empty prayers bounce off the walls of heaven. The vague and empty is the one thing that the Pharisees and Sadducees did well. And because of that, Christ continually chastised them for it. Their worship was not honest. It was a show. It was words that meant nothing. Is our moments of worship vague and empty or is it open and honest?

Call to action

How about you? Are you living a lifestyle of worship, where everything you do and say is bringing glory and honor to the name of Jesus? My challenge to you is to look at each activity to do throughout your day and ask yourself “How can I bring glory to Christ through what I am doing?” Maybe you need to change an attitude, maybe it’s something much more sever, like changing the activity. Whatever the case may be, do everything as an act of worship and see just how your life changes over the course of the next couple weeks.

Lord, I thank you that you have designed us to bring glory and honor to your name. You have designed us to be worshipers. I thank you that you have not designed us to be robots, but you have designed each of us uniquely. You have given us each a special way to worship you that will be different than the next person. Help us to learn exactly how we are wired so that we can worship you in the way you created us to worship you. Help us not to go through the motions of worship, or to neglect this beautiful act of worship, but to embrace the unique design. We love you Lord and desire to give you all the honor and glory and keep none of it for ourselves. In the precious name of Jesus Christ we pray.