Not Ready for Battle Yet?

There’s something you should know about God: He knows you inside and out and will never let anything into your life that you can’t handle with His help. Notice I said with His help. Your current circumstances may feel overwhelming and way too hard for whatever strength, patience, wisdom, or experience you feel you need. However, you can be sure that God’s got it covered. If He’s leading you to battle, He will provide whatever you need to defeat the enemy.

That’s a great comfort to me, because to tell you the truth, I’m feeling a little panicky right now. I want to run away and escape. We’re facing a situation in our lives that seems insurmountable and I’m not sure I’m up for it.

Yesterday morning I read Exodus thirteen and I’ve been smiling ever since. God always knows what we need to hear. When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they were a hoard of uneducated, beaten down, idol-worshipers that had been enslaved in Egypt for 430 years. God sent a series of ten plagues to convince Pharaoh otherwise when he refused to let them go. Each was specifically designed to defame a particular Egyptian god.

From there they headed for the Promised Land that Moses and Aaron had been telling them about, but God didn’t lead the Israelites into battle right away: “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle” (Exodus 13:17-18).

Interestingly enough, the Israelites thought they were ready for battle, but God knew they weren’t. Sometimes when I’m eager to fight, He has to “take me the long way around” for some basic training. More often, though, God has to push me into the fray when I still feel unprepared to face it. How wonderful that we have a God who knows what we’re ready for and even what would discourage us. Too much too soon and we would give up and go back into slavery rather than face it.

Whether your current battle is addiction, anger, depression, loneliness, fear, a wayward spouse or a wayward child, God sees it all and is right there with you. You and I still have to face desert times in life, but He will spare us from the “Philistines” until we’ve built up enough spiritual muscle to stand in battle. Until then, there’s a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night to show us the way to go; there’s water gushing from the Rock in barren land; there’s daily nourishment of manna from heaven; and the companionship of others with us on the way.

God sees our weak areas when we think we’re tough and strong, and protects us from certain failure. He also sees our strength when all we see is our weaknesses and gives us courage to fight. What a comfort it is to live in His presence!