Originally posted: 6/04/2020
…and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, 7 “Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria nor because of all the horde that is with him; for the one with us is greater than the one with him. 8 With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah, (32:6-8).
I’ve read these words of encouragement and exhortation before, many times. And you probably have as well, “Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed…”
Time and time again, the Lord came with His Word; His Word to “be strong and courageous;” His Word instructing His children to have no “fear or be dismayed.” And if His Word would be but believed, it would be all that was needed to triumph against an arm of flesh.
As we surely know, and all too well, this life is fraught with Battles. And when we attempt to fight battles on our own, with only an arm of flesh, we will lose, every time.
But when His Word is Our Reliance in the Battles, it is the only weapon required to conquer and defeat all the horde: “for the one with us is greater than the one with him [the enemy].”
Consider His Word, Our Reliance in the Battles
No matter the horde coming against us, no matter the struggles and trials, He is faithful to send His Word as the weapon we can Rely upon that is greater than every Battle we encounter:
- To Abram, in the Battle to wait:
- “Do not fear, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”
2 Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless…” (Genesis 15:1-2).
- “Do not fear, Abram,
- To Isaac, in the Battle to believe:
- “I am the God of your father Abraham;
Do not fear, for I am with you.
I will bless you, and multiply your descendants,
For the sake of My servant Abraham,” (Genesis 26:23).
- “I am the God of your father Abraham;
- To Moses, in the Battle to be faithful to the end:
- So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am a hundred and twenty years old today; I am no longer able to come and go, and the Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross this Jordan.’ 3 It is the Lord your God who will cross ahead of you; He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, just as the Lord has spoken… 6 Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you,” (Deuteronomy 31:1-3, 6).
- To Joshua, in the Battle to come into His success:
- “Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. 8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go,” (Joshua 1:6-9).
- To those in the Promised Land, in the Battle against the gods:
- “I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and from the hands of all your oppressors, and dispossessed them before you and gave you their land, 10 and I said to you, “I am the Lord your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live,” (Judges 6:9-10).
- To Solomon, in the Battle to complete His service:
- Then David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished,” (1 Chronicles 28:20).
- To the exhausted and feeble, in the Battle against anxiety:
- “Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.
4 Say to those with anxious heart,
“Take courage, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
The recompense of God will come,
But He will save you,” (Isaiah 35:3-4).
- “Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.
- To His chosen ones, in the Battle to remain strong:
- You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its remotest parts
And said to you, ‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand,” (Isaiah 41:9-10).
- You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
- To His redeemed and called by name, in the Battle to walk in faith:
- But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
3 “For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior,” (Isaiah 43:1-3).
- But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob,
- To Joseph, in the Battle to follow His will no matter the cost to reputation:
- And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins,” (Matthew 1:19-21).
- To a paralytic, in the Battle against sin:
- And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven,” (Matthew 9:2).
- To a suffering and helpless woman, in the Battle for healing:
- And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak; 21 for she was saying to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I will get well.” 22But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well,” (Matthew 9:20-22).
- To Mary, in the Battle against the impossible:
- The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.”… 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:30-31, 34-37).
- To His flock, in the Battle against worry:
- “And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom,” (Luke 12:29-32).
- To His disciples, in the Battle to see Him in the storm:
- Seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. 49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed that it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage; it is I, do not be afraid,” (Mark 6:49-50).
- To troubled hearts, in the Battle for peace:
- “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful,” (John 14:27).
- To believers, in the Battle for the sake of righteousness:
- But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, (1 Peter 3:14).
How do we respond to His Word, Our Reliance for the Battles?
Reliance: “something or someone relied on; certainty based on past experience.”
Perhaps today, we find ourselves facing a battle that appears as a great horde coming against us. Perhaps we find ourselves smack in the middle of waiting; perhaps we are struggling to believe or remain faithful; perhaps we are striving after His success against all odds and the gods in order to complete His service; perhaps we feel exhausted and in need of strength and faith; perhaps our reputation is in question as we pursue His will; perhaps we find ourselves unable to move forward, so in need to receive or extend forgiveness; perhaps we need healing; perhaps we need God to do the impossible; perhaps the worries and the storms are threatening our peace; perhaps our stand for righteousness seems to be stirring up problems. And perhaps, worst of all, the enemy’s voice is blaring, bringing us to the point of wondering if it’s even worth it.
Battles. They are fierce. They are real. And they are not for the faint of heart. It is when we find ourselves in the heat of Battle that we must remember.
We must remember His faithfulness in the past.
Come and hear, all who fear God,
And I will tell of what He has done for my soul, (Psalm 66:16).
And we must remember His promises for the future. There is nothing spoken that He does not intend to do, nothing promised that He will not make good.
“God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19).
And the enemy knows it. Sometimes, I think he seems to know it better than we do. Or at least he acts like he does; for he knows when we stop listening to and Relying on His Word, our weaponry is weakened and we begin to be governed by our doubts and fears. And that is exactly why his lies are so boisterously incessant.
They called this out with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, so that they might take the city. 19 They spoke of the God of Jerusalem as of the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of men’s hands, (32:18-19).
But the enemy also knows, no matter how persistently he raises his voice against the true knowledge of God, when His Word is Our Reliance for the Battle, the voice of the enemy will be silenced.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
And when we raise our voice with His Word, we crowd out the voice of the enemy from filling our thoughts; leaving no room for his language to gain volume or a place of prominence in our minds. As we mediate on the truth of God, His Word will become Our Reliance in the Battles.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things, (Philippians 4:8).
When the Battles rage, and they will, may we be like Mary, relying on His Word to accomplish His purpose in our lives.
And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word,” (Luke 1:38).
When the Battles persist, and they will, let us also be like King Hezekiah and the Apostle Paul, that we would be a voice of encouragement, a voice of truth that is louder than the lies. Oh, that the Lord’s Words we hear during our time with Him would become our words, that others would also be strengthened to rely on His Word, Our Reliance in the Battles.
…And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah, (32:8).
“Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told,” (Acts 27:25).