Remember that Sunday School song Jesus Loves Me? The words said, “I am weak but He is strong.” If you are reading this, you might be feeling weak and tired today.
Does your life feel like everyone is against you?
Do you wonder how you will find your way out of your current circumstances?
Maybe you feel alone and wonder if anyone understands how you feel.
You are not the first to face times when you feel weak and like all the world is against you. God has not left His people alone in times of need. God fights for you.
God Fights for His People the Historical Record
One of the reasons the Old Testament is provided for us is so we can see God’s character and providence in history. We can see how God works in the affairs of his people to bring about God’s purposes. When we feel worried and alone, we can read how in times of greatest need, God provides for his people and saves his people.
Let’s look at a few Old Testament examples of when God fought for his people.
Moses and the Israelites were trapped between the Red Sea with the advancing Egyptian army approaching fast. God fought for them opening the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21) and taking out the Egyptian army.
With God’s help, Joshua and the Israelites conquered the Promised land. In Joshua 6, Jericho was conquered by Joshua’s army with trumpets and a loud shout, and the walls came down. Later, in Joshua 10:12-13, Joshua asked God to make the sun stand still for 24 hours and God made it so.
By faith, Ester asked King Xerxes to save the Jews. When she entered the King’s chamber she could have been killed, but God opened King Xerxes’ heart and he listened to her request.
Daniel was protected in the lion’s den and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walked around unharmed in a fiery furnace.
These are just a few examples from the Old Testament of God protecting His people and fighting for them when they were weak.
God Fights for You Today
These examples above and many more from the Bible are provided to us so we know God’s faithfulness. The promises are still true for you today.
Moses spoke these words to the Israelites at the Red Sea,
Exodus 14:13-14
“Don’t be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will work for you today; for you will never again see the Egyptians whom you have seen today. 14 Yahweh will fight for you, and you shall be still.”
Let’s look at these verses from Deuteronomy the last book written by Moses (and one of my favorite books in the Old Testament).
Before entering the promised land, the people feared they could not take it, and Moses reminded them again,
“You shall not fear them; for Yahweh your God himself fights for you.”
Deuteronomy 3:22
If the challenge or the problem seems overwhelming or you feel outnumbered, you are not the first to feel this fear.
“When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses, chariots, and a people more numerous than you, you shall not be afraid of them; for Yahweh your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you. 2 It shall be, when you draw near to the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people, 3 and shall tell them, “Hear, Israel, you draw near today to battle against your enemies. Don’t let your heart faint! Don’t be afraid, nor tremble, neither be scared of them; 4 for Yahweh your God is he who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”
Deuteronomy 20:1-4
Just as God fought for His people in the Old Testament, He fights for you today, too.
How Faith Grows
The hardest part of being in a trial or time of distress is the feeling of helplessness and uncertainty about the future. James wrote that the testing of our faith produces endurance so that we will lack nothing.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-3
God moves in our lives in big and small ways. But we all come a to Red Sea moment in life when we are pressed with nowhere to go by a health issue, a worry about our children, a financial issue, or personal crisis we cannot control, and sometimes we have more than one situation all at the same time. It’s in these moments we realize the only way through is for God to part the Red Sea and make a way.
In these moments of fear and hardship that our faith starts to grow. We see the hand of God in ways we didn’t see it before. As we walk through these difficult times, it’s hard, but when we get to the other side we see how we have grown and the changes God has made in us.
I enjoy taking care of plants inside and outside my house. When I walk by them, I look to see if they are healthy and growing. I check to see if they have new leaves. I prune the dead leaves and branches. The same is true with God in our lives. God wants us to grow. Sometimes we need guidance from the Bible and teachers, and sometimes we need pruning removing old and dead branches in our lives so we can be stronger and more like Christ.
If you are struggling today, think of the faith of those who came before you. See how the tests in their lives changed them and look for the ways God is growing and changing you in this time.
In closing, a few more words from Moses in Deuteronomy,
7 “Yahweh didn’t set his love on you nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all peoples; 8 but because Yahweh loves you, and because he desires to keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, Yahweh has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that Yahweh your God himself is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness to a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commandments,”
Deuteronomy 7:7-9 WEB
Claim these promises today. Know that God is with you.
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