God’s names (2)
2021-09-172 Chronicles 20:15 NKJV
When Israel was threatened by the armies of Amalek, God gave them a glorious victory. Moses realised that God was fighting the battle for them, so he built an altar to Jehovah-Nissi: the Lord my banner. Fighting our own battles was never God’s idea. The Bible says, ‘The LORD is a warrior (Exodus 15:3 NCV). ‘You only need to remain calm; the LORD will fight for you’ (Exodus 14:14 NCV). ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.’
As human beings we get exhausted and discouraged because we keep trying to fight in our own strength. We go through fruitless cycles of repentance, resolution, struggle, defeat, discouragement, and repenting all over again. The only spiritual conflict that’s ever successfully won is the one God fights for us. He doesn’t expect us to win the battle, but to let Him win it on our behalf. We need to ‘fight the good fight of faith’ (1 Timothy 6:12 KJV).
Our battle isn’t one of exhausting effort, it’s the battle of believing and trusting in God. When Jacob wrestled with an angel, his victory came in surrendering to God. He didn’t win by wrestling, he won by acknowledging he was too weak to carry on wrestling and needed God. When we’re at that point – when we’re worn out by struggles and battles in life – we need to let go and trust Jehovah-Nissi to fight for us, because ‘the battle is not yours, but God’s’! Then we can declare with Paul, ‘When I am weak, then am I strong’ (2 Corinthians 12:10 KJV).