“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh…” 2 Cor. 10:4
The world teaches us to fight our battles with our fists in the air, throwing punches at our enemy, fighting in all the strength we can muster, looking to past victories or others’ victories as our model to win the battles we face today. But the Bible makes clear this is NOT the way to fight our battles. In fact, the Bible reveals 6 ways NOT to fight our battles.
- Don’t go into a battle God hasn’t called us into; go only into the ones He has called us into.
- Don’t fight in our own “strength”; fight in His strength, or might.
- Don’t enter battle without the “full armor of God”; wear it and use it.
- Don’t use directions God has given us or others for other battles; use the ones He gives us for the battle we’re in.
- Don’t focus on the battle and the enemy; focus on the Lord, His Spirit, and His Word, and place our trust and confidence in Him.
- Victory in battle is in Christ, and the glory belongs to God, not us; make sure to give Him the glory due His name!
In Deuteronomy 1:42-44, the Israelites lost a battle because they went into it against the Lord’s orders. In 2 Corinthians 10:4, the spiritual weapons of Christ followers are depicted as “mighty through God” rather than in our “strength”. Ephesians 6:11-17 describes the “full armor of God”. Note the word “full.” We need it all! The Old Testament is packed with battles. The directions for each were different. The directions came from God. Victory in one battle was achieved one way; in another, it was achieved a different way. We need God’s unique directions for each battle. He is our commander. We need to ever be seeking, hearing from, and following Him. We need to hear Him by His Spirit in line with His Word. David when he faced Goliath didn’t focus on gigantic Goliath. He set his trust and confidence in God. Joshua and Caleb placed their trust in God when they considered the enemy as the Israelites headed for the Promised Land. The people looked at the enemy, were intimidated, and saw themselves as grasshoppers. A totally defeatist attitude. In Psalm 20:7, the psalmist speaks of not trusting in chariots or horses, but in “boasting” and “taking pride” in God depending on the translation.
Where is our victory? In Christ. Who deserves all glory for the victories we have in our battles? The Lord! To whom do we give the praise? The honor? Adoration? Thanksgiving? May it not be ourselves, nor others. But God almighty through Christ! When God gave the Israelites a great victory, read what Moses sang! “The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him (Ex. 15:2 ESV).”