And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.  Philippians 4:7  (ERV)

Even in the midst of a battle, if we trust in God, we can still find peace.

The kind of peace that lives in our hearts and guards our minds.

The perfect kind of peace.

So often, we worry about things that are way beyond our control. 

But, if we really want to overcome our worries and burdens we need to become warriors.

That’s right!

Not worriers BUT warriors.

This is not for the faint-hearted!

I know that it is often said that Christianity is for the softies. For people who need a vice.

But it is quite the contrary.

You have to have faith in what you believe.

You have to stand firm in what you believe.

You have to trust in an unseen God, whom the world so often disregards, but whom you know in your heart is mighty and awesome and willing to work a wonder in your life.

Here’s a real life story:

I recently chatted to a ‘certain someone’ who was experiencing an incredibly unjust situation in their business environment. The owner of this small company was confronted by a long-standing, good customer, who was withholding payment on the grounds that he had been supplied faulty products. He stated that he had taken it upon himself to have the faulty panels replaced and would take this cost off the amount that was still due.

On looking into the matter further, it was discovered that in fact, none of the products had been reported as faulty on site, and none of the products had actually been repaired.

The client had to be lying. It appeared that the client was really just trying to get out of settling his full outstanding bill.

The immediate instinct of the ‘certain someone’ was to take legal action. To fight for what is rightfully due!

To me, that sounded like the worst solution. I am a peace keeper. I hate confrontation and I hate legal battles.

But, I wouldn’t want to do nothing.

I would want to stand up for what is right! I would want justice to be done!

But a legal battle? Is anyone ever the winner??

The stress alone adds years to your life – years which you can never get back.

 

I spent much time pondering what I would have done. Was there any advice that I could give that would be wise and impactful? Advice that would alter the course of events and change the outcome to one that was positive – without legal intervention.

I was not born wise. I have not acquired worldly wisdom.  

But, if it were me … I would trust in God’s intervention.

I would go to war – with God. I would go to war against this unjust act and this evil heart!

Not with conventional weapons of words and lawyers and letters, but with weapons of prayer, praise and worship!

Worship is the most meek yet effective form of spiritual warfare.

The definition of meek is not ‘weak’ but rather ‘strength under control’

And that is what worship is all about. Praising God in all circumstances, because you know that ultimately He is in control.

Here is an incredible account of an army that never got to go to battle. Because of the praises of the people, the battle had already been won. Powerful

 

2 Chronicles 20:20-24 New Living Translation (NLT)

 Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”

After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:

“Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!”

At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other.  So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.

 

If you go to God in prayer about something, you need to trust whole-heartedly that God is at work, even if you cannot see anything happening. You need to trust that God has heard your prayers and you need to rest in that.

You need to take you position in confidence, pray to God and trust him to make a way – no matter what the circumstances. Then choose to let it go. Do not live in fear but rather in freedom from worry.

You have got to TRUST that this is going to end well.

God loves to see your faith.

And He loves you!

You can even go ahead and enjoy your life while God fights your battles or works things out for your good!

You don’t have to look as if you are permanently in deep meditation in order to see breakthrough. Instead, celebrate every single little triumph, every little joy, because these are the pearls before the grand prize. God loves giving pearls when he sees your faith in action. And he loves the great party at the end when He celebrates the ultimate battle won – when the victory is yours.

So that is what I would!  And this is the advice that I would give.

Worship and Pray. And then trust for the day, when the work is done and the battle is won.

“Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!”