I Know That You are For Me

All of us have struggles. Each of us have battles to fight. Sometimes the war rages against our circumstances, or the people around us; other times the battle is within. Either way, trials are where our faith gets tested. It's where the rubber meets the road. When you are up against something bigger than yourself, you have to ask where is your confidence going to come from to get through it. For many Christians there is a big gap between their theology and their reality. They leave their faith on the pew each week and expect to make through the next six days on their own strength wondering why at the end of the week they feel defeated, disconnected, and end up achieving anything but peace. God's word is supposed to be practical; institute it into your daily living and the automatic result is less drama and more peace regardless of your circumstances.
"The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever." Isaiah 32:7
Believing God is what closes the gap.
It doesn't matter what you are battling....for respect, for love, for self-worth, for purpose...the answer is the same and the true battle rages within. Will you believe what God says about your circumstances or will you take the matter into your own hands in attempts to achieve your desired end? The bible tells us "The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm." Exod 14:14. In fact, scripture specifically tells us that when we are being attacked the Lord will fight for us SEVEN times. Usually anything God repeats in scripture he is making a point to emphasize; I think he wants us to know this one.
Why so important? Because the fact of the matter is, when we refuse to allow God to be God in our circumstance, then we are elevating the 'thing' we desire above God. That automatically defines it as an idol and something happens in our hearts when we worship something other than God. Our hearts become hardened. I've recently witnessed this in some folks that are pretty close to me. It's hard to watch people struggle to achieve their hearts' desire in their own strength getting further away from God. They become less able to hear his voice on other matters. The harder one's heart is, the harder it is for God to squeeze out things like un-forgiveness, jealousy, pride, or greed.  This is the ultimate reason why God wants us to let him fight our battles for us...he ultimately cares about matters of our heart more than anything else.
The bible is full of examples of people who took matters into their own hands when they didn't think God was going to come through for them or he wasn't doing it fast enough. Usually they don't end well, fail to satisfy, and wreak unintended consequences. The whole point is to learn from them; there are some things we can learn in the classroom and therefore don't need to take the field trip! Amen to that. I'm choosing to learn from these stories and by watching some examples that are up close in and person.

One of the best biblical examples for illustrating what happens to the heart when we don't rely on God to fight for us occurs between Leah and Rachel. If you don't know the story, Jacob fell in love with Rachel and wanted to marry her; he agreed to work for her father for 7 years if he agreed to give her in marriage. She was the younger more beautiful sister of Leah. On their wedding night, Laban their father deceived Jacob and brought Leah to him instead. Jacob was very upset because he really loved Rachel. So Laban agreed to give him Rachel for another 7 years of work. Leah knew that Jacob loved Rachel, but she hoped that by giving him children she would capture his heart. Leah did not look to God for her desperate desire to be loved or chosen. Look what happens to her heart. As she continues to give him sons, she attaches a name to them that shows what is happening in her heart.
1. First she had Reuben, "surely my husband will love me."
2. Later she had Levi ,"my husband will become attached to me."
3. Then she had Zebulun, "my husband will treat me with honor."
4. When she couldn't conceive anymore, she gave him her maidservant, Zilpah.
5. Rachel asks Leah for some mandrakes and in exchange allows Leah to sleep with Jacob; she doesn't even wait for him to come home but runs out to meet him. She knew she wasn't loved. She knew Rachel would always be chosen, but she runs to meet him for just one night of something that might feel just a little like love.
Her heart has become so jaded, and hardened by not trusting God and feeling defeated that she is willing to give herself to someone for merely crumbs in return. She sacrificed God's best for her because she didn't trust he could fix her situation.

By contrast, there are two good examples in scripture we can use to pattern our own behavior.
1. Cry out to God in prayer.  When you feel like your situation if hopeless and a battle bigger than you can fight alone, tell God about it. God loves to rescue his people! 2nd Chronicles 32 tells the story of Sennacherib the King of Assyria attacking Jerusalem. The  Jewish king at the time was a faithful man named  Hezekiah, which means 'God is my Strength'. He told the people, "Do not be afraid or discouraged because the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him."

"But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world." 1st John 4:4

Immediately the enemy attacked this notion. Sennacherib asked, "On what are you basing your confidence...?"  For Hezekiah it was God and despite how terrifying or dismal the situation looked, "he cried out in prayer to heaven. And the Lord sent any angel who annihilated all the fighting men and leaders of the Assyrian king." In our own strength, things are dismal and impossible to fix. But "for man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matt 19:26  Do you believe it or is it something you just sing about on Sunday?

2. Always rely on God to fight the battle for you, even when you have the upper hand.
King David was described in  the bible as a "man after God's own heart." 1st Sam 13:14 This does not mean that he was sinless, but he was quick to align his behavior with the heart of God. Twice David had the opportunity to kill King Saul who was chasing him and trying to kill him. Both times he did not do it. Later when presented the opportunity to take revenge on a mean spirited man named Nabal, he did not after Abigail persuaded him not to. He responded this way, " May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from...avenging myself with my own hands"....later Nabal's "heart failed him and he became like a stone. About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died."
This one is harder. It's easier I think to turn it over to God when you have no choices. But when one of those choices is exerting power in your own abilities rather than trusting God, the battles heats up. Let me tell you from experience, there will be a myriad of voices telling you to just "Do it." Just like in the Nike commercial and in the ears of David. You will be very tempted and can easily justify it. But the result to your own heart is the same...it hardens and becomes less able to hear the still quiet voice of God. 
I've figured out that this is one of the big lessons that I am supposed to learn during this season of life. God will fight for me. All I have to do is stay calm. I also need to resist the urge to take it into my own hands, especially when presented with the upper hand to do so. I'm not saying this is easy. There are days when I feel like I am "spiritually bi-polar." Not to make light of this mental illness at all, but I do vacillate at times between a vibrant faith and then feeling like my world is about to end. The key is staying very close to God.Pressed in...especially during battle.  Allowing God to fight for me keeps my heart tender and pliable to his hand. This is what it is all about. God wants me to know he is for me. God wants me to know he is God. A song that speaks so loudly to me and this notion is Kari Jobe's "I know that you are for me". The lyrics echo the intended sentiment of this blog post.
I know that you are for me
I know that you are for me
I know that you will never forsake me in my weakness
I know that you have come now
Even if to write upon my heart
To remind me of who you are.