He Fights For Me

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It’s a simultaneously terrifying and freeing idea …

This idea that I am not in control.

God is.

Perhaps it is a terrifying thought because we are human. We are rebels by nature. Rebelling against God’s good and perfect design, and then trying to control the broken pieces of life that we’re left with.

We have an issue with trust, and cannot bear the idea of not having a firm grasp on our lives. Controlling what happens and what doesn’t happen. Making sure we’re safe, succeed in life, and yes, making sure that God’s wonderful plan and will for us comes to pass.

But I am not lord of my life. And I should quit pretending to be. My Lord should be my Master and King. Why do I call Him Lord if I have not surrendered every area of my life to Him?

Perhaps it is a freeing thought because, when I come to the end of myself and realize how entirely not in control I am, I understand to the depths of my soul my desperate need for a Savior. A King. A Lord. A Father. A Warrior. An Author.

Write my life story, Lord, because I am broken and will only continue to break if I try to do things my way.

I am undone. Be my Redeemer. Redeem me from the mess I’ve made of my life. Be my Father, hold my hurting heart.

I am afraid. Be my Warrior – deliver me from the lies of Satan that seek to destroy me and drive me to despair.

I am not in control.

*deep breath*

He is. And He fights for me.

Oh, my friends, we have a Hope in heaven on high. We are not alone. You are not alone. Your God and King is fighting for you.

I think sometimes we need to just be still and let Him fight for us. The thought struck me as I was doing my devotionals and came across these verses:

¹³ And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:13-14)

¹⁹ And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. ²⁰ So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night. (Exodus 14:19-20)

Basically, do not fear! Wait on the Lord, and see what He will accomplish for you! Maybe we forget Who it is that we claim to follow. He is the Most High God! He is the Creator of heaven and earth! He is the Beginning and the End! He is mighty, He is able, and He is faithful.

³¹ But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

⁶ You alone are the Lord;
You have made heaven,
The heaven of heavens, with all their host,
The earth and everything on it,
The seas and all that is in them,
And You preserve them all. (Nehemiah 9:6)

I think it’s awesome how the Angel of God moved and stood behind the Israelites. It came between them and their enemies. He had their back. God is our Heavenly Warrior – sovereign and in control. He can be trusted.

He can be trusted in the big things, and in the small things. He is in control of every detail of our lives. He knows every desire and hope and dream of our hearts. And contrary to what we might believe, I do not think we have to struggle and strive and grasp for control to make sure God’s will comes to pass in our lives.

Who do we think we are?

He is the Potter, we are the clay.

He is the Creator, we are the created.

He is the Savior, we are the sinners.

He is the Master, we are the servants.

He is the Shepherd, we are the sheep.

He is the Father, we are the children.

He is the Leader, we are the followers.

We are Christians – Christ followers.

I believer that if we are seeking the Lord each day, desiring His will, and striving to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength … that we can simply rest in Him. We can trust Him to provide everything we need in order to do His will. We can wait on Him to show us each new step in the way He would lead us.

⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye. (Psalm 32:8)

There is no need to fret and worry and drown in anxiety. He’s got this, my dear friends. Yes, we’re human. We make mistakes. We mess up. We fall into sin. But He is gracious and able to lift us out of the dark pit and place us back on the right path. Even when we wander … Even when we are at a complete loss of what to do …

Trust in the Lord and don’t trust in your own understanding. Seek Him earnestly. Wait on Him. Be still, knowing He is God. Pray, believing. He will guide you. Direct your paths. Open doors, or close doors.

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²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; (Philippians 1:6)

I love this passage, which shows how utterly dependent we can be on God. We don’t have worry for a single thing. Just surrender and follow Him. Pick up your desires, talents, dreams, goals, gifts, callings, feelings, wonderings, ideas, etc. and set off on His good path, following in His holy footsteps.

²² Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. ²³ Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.²⁴ Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? ²⁶ If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?

²⁹ “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. ³⁰ For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

³² “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:22-32)

What a gloriously beautiful Truth. I am not in control. And I can stop trying to be in control. I can rest in my Father’s all-sufficient care.

²⁰ Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, ²¹ make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21)

He will bring whatever plan He has for my life to pass.

He will bring His will about in my life and the lives of my family and friends.

He will provide for my needs – both big and small.

He will fight for me, when the battles seem impossible to win.

And I must choose to rest in Him. To wait on Him. To trust in Him. To bring before Him every care and concern. To pray without ceasing. To use His Word as my comfort and as a sword with which to stop the Enemy’s lies. To step out boldly in faith when I feel Him moving me to action. To find my hope always in Him.

Like a little child, I can reach out to Him when I am afraid. I can surrender control and let my Father tenderly lead me. I am His daughter, and that is a beautiful truth.

He is with us. He is with you. Today, trust your heart to the One who is ever and always in control.

and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)

⁷ The Lord is good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble;
And He knows those who trust in Him. (Nahum 1:7)

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