Throughout The Battle

Do you ever feel that you’ve come to the end of your rope? Have you felt that life has become so overwhelming that if just one more difficult or challenging thing happens you will lose the battle and the army of giants in your life will overtake you? Sometimes life feels that way. It comes at you like a battering ram until you are bruised and aching, feeling that you can’t take anymore. But in times like those, when we feel defeated, we need to remember that though life can be hard, our Savior is there for us throughout the battle.

Recently, a series of events have occurred in my life that have left me so emotionally exhausted that I haven’t been able to function as I should. My smile has been forced, my laugh strained and my positive attitude has been injured. Pressure has enveloped me like an evil vice grip and stress has taken its toll. How long, I have wondered, until I would feel relief? As I have opened my eyes each day, I have cried out to God and I know He hears me. “You are my Helper and my Savior. O my God, do not delay” (Psalm 40:17b).

God always proves faithful in all He does and I trust Him completely. The difficulty, I have found, lies in remembering that His timing is perfect. Even in my struggles, He is working with a purpose. In my weakness, I have felt that I couldn’t handle any more. With my strength drained and energy gone, fear crept its way into my tired soul and I struggled to stand in the battle. But, as I confessed my fears to Him, I remembered that the battle is the Lord’s! He will hold me up and fight for me. I need not be afraid! “…This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s’” (2 Chronicles 20:15).

My Lord is here with me…and He is here with you, too. We can stand firm in the knowledge that throughout all of life’s trials, God is fighting for us. He is greater than any of our giants. Though we are weak, He will hold us up and deliver us. “‘You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you’” (2 Chronicles 20:17).

So, as we go out and face another day full of challenges, struggles…and giants, we can have courage. The Lord will be with us and the battle is His.

In His grip,