Are there giants in your life? I’m talking about something you have to face that is too big… too hard. There are a few giants in my life today. If I am honest, they scare me. Today you will see how to be still with God, as He strengthens you to fight your battles and conquer the giant in your life.
When God Says You Can You Fight Your Battles
There are times when God will fight your battles. When God fights for you, He shows up and shows off in powerful ways. In those times, you are left standing in awe of Him. I love that plan the most!
Then there are times when God says, “Be still and fight your battles (yourself).”
Can I be honest with you?
It doesn’t matter how many times He’s said this to me, I respond the same way. Fear! Anybody else?
I want God to fight my battles – always just Him. I love Bible verses about fighting battles like 2 Chronicles 20 where God swoops in and does everything. Why doesn’t He always act in those ways?
Today’s passage is not one of those times, yet it is a powerful reminder of how much God loves us. Y’all, God loves us too much to stop growing us.
“But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him [Og the giant king of Bishon], for I have given him into your hand, and all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.”” (Numbers 21:34 NASB)
God Doesn’t Need Trained Warriors
It’s important to have the back story when studying this passage. Number 21 finds Israel wandering in the wilderness headed toward the Promised Land. Moses is still leading them and they are quite an intimidating sight to the surrounding nations.
Earlier in the chapter, Moses asks permission to pass through the land of Sihon only to find them hostile. God gave Israel the victory!
Now Og the king of Bishon comes to battle against Israel (even after seeing God defeat his neighbors… not the smartest king).
This time, however, instead of God saying, “Hold your peace and let the Lord fight your battles,” He says, “You will fight your battle.”
Some things to Know about Israel:
- Remember that Israel was a nation of slaves, not soldiers.
- The people of the land have been watching God and Israel in fear.
- The Israelites are intimidating in numbers.
- Og was of the Amorites, which were known for their size.
- This was probably an army of giants.
Battles Bring Fear
As we read Numbers 21:34 we learn that the Israelites are still complaining and grumbling. They are still afraid even though they have seen God do amazing things. As much as I want to rail at them, I have to admit I am like them all too often.
Battles bring fear. When giants rise up against me in life, fear is my gut-level response. Who else?
Truly, it doesn’t take a battle in my life to inspire fear. Fear and anxiety over change and uncertainty get me every time, no matter how often God saves me! Can you relate?
God Is Your Deliverer
How many times has God delivered you from a giant?
How many times has God fought your battles?
He is a God of battles and He is always victorious. God is your deliverer!
God has been so faithful in my life. He shows up and shows off over and over. God fights for me, saves me, and delivers me every time. Honestly, I am so thankful, yet I still struggle when I face the next giant or battle.
I know He says, “The battle is mine, says the Lord,” (2 Chronicles 20:15). In the end, I have faith that He will win. Learning how to let God fight your battles, however, when He wants you to do the fighting is harder to accept. I much prefer the battles He lets me sit on the sidelines and watch while I pray and praise.
How about you?
You Can Become A Warrior
Something different happens in this passage that I don’t want you to miss. God delivered Israel from the giants by using Israel to fight the battle themselves.
Earlier we saw the command to, “Be still and not fear,” while God did all the fighting miraculously. In this case, God gives the command for them to fight. Thankfully, they obeyed the Lord’s command.
Don’t miss this. When you obey God – step out in faith and fight the battle, becoming God’s hands and feet – you become a warrior.
Israel was NOT a nation of warriors stepping into this battle. However, they emerged from the battle as warriors – victorious warriors. This nation of slaves had become soldiers at last. Yes, they were afraid as they went into battle, but they were also standing up and fighting!
God will do the same for you if you will trust Him.
Did you find this mid-series? Go back here and read the intro and keep up with the series.
Do You Want Victory Over The Giants You Face?
When I study a passage I always ask God, “How can this be applied to my right now situation?”
Numbers 21:34 required me to stop ignoring the battles I face (hoping they wouldn’t be as scary if I just didn’t look them in the face). You can’t fight a battle if you don’t know the details.
What Are The Giants In Your Life?
Certainly, we all face hard seasons and circumstances. They feel overwhelming as we view them from human eyes. The Bible demands we look deeper, however, and see that most of what we face has roots in the spiritual real. We can’t see the real enemy… but he is there.
I’d be willing to bet most of the battles you are fighting today are actually spiritual giants.
- Impossible situations.
- Too much change.
- Hard seasons that just won’t end.
- Relationships that need work.
- Needs that feel overwhelming as they are unmet in the way you expected.
Do not be afraid of the spiritual giants in your life! Listen, God will fight for you but He wants to mature you into a spiritual warrior in the process.
The Real Battle You Are Fighting
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12 NASB)
There is a real war being waged in the heavenly places today. We have a real enemy who would like you to feel too afraid to fight back. When you don’t fight your battles, you lose because he (the enemy) is always fighting!
Fear and anxiety are weapons in the hand of a seasoned enemy.
I am not judging, pinky promise, I’m just as scared over here. The fear, it knows my name and it is a battle some days to get into the battle.
The problem is that if we stay stuck in fear, yes, we may get through the battle, but we won’t grow.
However, if we learn to “be still” in the face of the giants of life, give the fear to God, and press into Him through the battle, we grow and conquer giants!
Spiritual Maturity
Some amazing things happen when Christians grow spiritually (or mature) through hard times.
- You learn to discern the battles before they get too big.
- We learn how to avoid unnecessary trouble.
- Victory over the giants in our lives can become every day.
- We can help others learn to fight their battles as well!
A Christian who is growing is a threat to the enemy. So yes, he’d love to keep you stuck in fear, but God said, “Do not fear, be still.” Trust Him! Trusting God, even as you fight your battles, leads to spiritual maturity!
Trusting God, even as you fight your battles, leads to spiritual maturity! Share on XHow to Fight Your Battles Victoriously
We know these things to be true:
- Battles breed fear.
- The enemy is seasoned and always ready for a fight.
How do we quiet our fear and be still?
How does stillness help us become victorious warriors?
Notice, in the passage, that Moses didn’t charge into battle like a fool. Nope, Moses had a healthy fear of this giant but a bigger fear of His God. We see three steps to fight our battles victoriously from this example.
- Pray
- Know God’s voice
- Community
Related: 40 Encouraging Bible Verses About Making Wise Decisions
1. Prayer Helps You Fight Your Battles
Notice that Moses took time to check with God before the battle.
To be still and conquer a giant you must pray! Not only do we see Moses pray before this battle, we see him pray a lot. Prayer had become a habit of his life.
Is prayer a habit in your life?
I can not overemphasize the power of prayer in the life of a Believer!
Related Post: 27 Best Prayer Resources to Help You Pray Strategically
2. Know God’s Voice to Fight Your Battles Victoriously
Moses also spent time with God regularly to know His will. Regularly talking with someone helps you easily recognize their voice. This helps us hear God’s voice above our own fears or selfish desires.
To be still and conquer a giant you must spend time in the Bible. Spending time – regularly- in the Bible helps you learn how God moved in the past so you can better understand how He is moving now.
Why does God allow giants into our lives?
- To get our attention.
- Sometimes the hard situations in our lives are to get our attention about something God wants to change.
- Spiritual growth.
- Other times God employs battles to grow us or someone around us.
- For His own reasons.
- Still, other times God has His own mysterious reasons for putting us face to face with a giant.
The truth is, we can’t always understand the why behind each battle or giant we face, but we can know God’s heart regardless of the circumstances!
Have you noticed that is a theme the Lord is repeating in our study of how to be still? Trusting God’s character even when we can’t understand His plans is key to stillness.
If you are not In your Bible you won’t understand God’s heart in the process of what is happening. That’s the easiest time for fear to win, keeping you from engaging in the battle.
Fear is a normal reaction to a battle. Hear me. You are not crazy to feel the fear. When we learn how to be still, however, we can put our faith in God and conquer a giant -overcoming fear!
Related: Verse Mapping for Beginners
3. Community Helps You Conquer Giants
To be still and conquer a giant you must not fight alone. Moses didn’t charge into the battle alone. He waited for God’s command and he stayed with his people. Fighting alone is foolish. Fighting without God’s direction is foolish.
We know as New Testament Christians that where two or more are gathered God is in their midst (Matthew 18:20). Staying connected with other believers is importing. It will help you win the battles!
The key here is to surround yourself with friends who follow hard after Jesus. That means there are times we have to evaluate our friends. Are the people you choose to spend time with – the ones you call when something hard comes along – helping you grow in faith?
I want to challenge you to take that question to God and let Him make changes as He deems necessary.
Related: 12 Verses to Pray for Unity in the Church
A Prayer to Be Still While Fighting Your Battles
Jehovah Nissi,
I praise You for making me more than a conqueror in Christ. You won the victory and waved a banner over us today – a banner of love, claiming us as Your own. That is comforting, Lord.
I confess that the fear is real and strong and today I won but tomorrow is coming. Please remind me each morning to be still, to spend time with You, and to pray more than I complain and worry.
I lay my life before You, and if You are making me into a Spiritual Warrior I surrender. Confrontation and battle scare me and I feel less than enough.
No one would choose me to go to war, Lord. But if You called me to this I believe You will equip me for the battles ahead. There are giants waiting. Marriage issues. Parenting challenges. Drama in friendships. Health concerns. I can’t face them alone. Go before me, hedge me in. Hide me under the shadow of Your wing.
To You be all the glory
Amen
Will You Be Still While Fighting Your Battles Victoriously Today?
There are times when the Father says, “Fight your battles.” That is scary!
Yes, God will be with you. He will never leave you alone in the battle, but He will allow you to be stretched to grow.
What are the giants you are facing today?
Do they feel too bit to have victory over?
Remember the three steps Moses shows us lead to victory in the battle:
- Pray
- Are you talking to God about the giant in front of you more than you are complaining about it?
- Know God’s voice
- How much time do you spend in the Bible? You can’t know God’s voice if you don’t spend time listening to Him talk. His voice will drown out that fear!
- Community
- Are the majority of the people you spend your life with following hard after God?
God will fight your battles, but there are times He will use you to do the fighting! Trust Him in the process. Victory is on the other side of your faith.
in HIM,
Tiffany of Hope Joy in Christ inspires Christian Women to grow in faith, live out Biblical Marriage Principles and raise Godly Children. Join the Wives Only Facebook Group here or keep up with her through Pinterest.
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