Walk Away

"and won."

WE MUST LIVE over and above the battle. We, Christ’s body, the church, must walk away from war. War is violence. Hatred. When God is love. 1 John 4:8.

“But, Suzanne, we’re fighting the devil. We’re fighting the enemy.”

No, Jesus did that and won. We don’t have to do anything but stand (Ephesians 6:13). In rest. In peace. All our needs supplied, physically, mentally, emotionally. This is what the armor He’s provided is. He did what we could not, what we cannot, and made us strong so that nothing bothers us anymore.

NOT so we can keep fighting.

There is no more warfare. Not now. Not after His soon return. It’s over, friends. Family. Any warring we see now is violence from sin. A woman Jew said it this way. She asked her Rebbe why G_d lets us suffer. Hear his answer. He said it was not that G_d lets us suffer or causes suffering, but that pain is here on this earth, and sometimes, we step in it. G_d is who carries us through it.

God is our rescue. And Jesus is His name. Hashem to the Jews.

Look at Jesus. Facing the cross, He asked His disciples (Peter had just swung a sword at those who’d come to arrest Him), “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:53)?” The answer was He could do that. But He didn’t. War, battle, was not how the Father had planned to judge Satan. And it was judgment. NOT A BATTLE. God chose to destroy the devil and the works of the devil, He chose to destroy death by dying. Not fighting. (Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8; 2 Timothy 1:10)

“Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” (John 16:11)

Look to the Old Covenant stories of Israel for a picture of how God won victories. Repeatedly, He did not let Israel fight but destroyed their enemy without them even having a sword. Instead, they were told to worship. Their defeat of the city of Jericho comes first to mind. All they had to do was walk around the walls and praise G_d (Joshua 6:5). The stories of Gideon and King Jehoshaphat also speak. Gideon’s 300 men faced a huge army of Midianites, vastly outnumbered. And this was God’s doing. He’d whittled the Israelites down to impossible odds. Then, lined up for battle, their heavenly instructions were to blow the trumpets, break empty pitchers, and shout, “The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon (Judges 7:18).” When they did, the opposing army screamed in fright and fled.

King Jehoshaphat faced the armies of Moab and Ammon. Unsure what to do, he prayed to G_d amidst the people (2 Chronicles 20:13), and G_d said, “Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you (Verse 17).” They were told to stand on the battlefield and praise the Lord God of Israel. No war needed. I could also include the four lepers whose footsteps approaching the enemy army of Syria sounded like “a great host” (2 Kings 7:6), and the Syrians fled, without battle, leaving behind untold riches and an abundance of food and drink.

God did not want Israel to live by their own efforts, but by His. From their daily bread, which He provided from heaven (manna), to the rules of Old Covenant Law, which He wrote so none of it would come from them. To battles which they would not have to fight. He was everything.

Is He everything to us? Has Jesus done a complete work in His death and Resurrection? Because if you see it otherwise, and He left the devil roaming around as a roaring lion, then you need new revelation of Him. He is Savior. King of Kings. Prince of Peace.

“All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.” (Ephesians 1:20-23 MSG)

“When I saw him, I fell down at his feet, afraid that I couldn’t tolerate the intensity of the experience, but he gently placed his right hand on me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am the Beginning and the End. I am the One with unborrowed life; yes, I died, but look: I am alive forever! And I have the Remedy for death, and the power to open the grave.’” (Revelation 1:17-18, Remedy)


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com