This is How I Fight My Battles

I was thinking just last night and this morning. I was thinking about the battles we fight and then my mind starting running with it.

The battles we fight daily are about being free. That’s why we fight, the fight for freedom. To be declared independent from others. Free from offenses, free from sickness, free from debt, free from our baggage. And free from the battles in our mind that we fight daily. Free from sins we’ve committed, and free from sins committed against us. Just wanting to be plain ole free!

I believe this is where most of us fight those battles. The battles of being burdened AGAIN by a yoke of slavery.  The key word here being ‘again.’  We find ourselves at the foot of the cross, at Jesus’s feet, laying our battles (our burdens, those things we have become slaves to) at His feet. But then we drag it back with us for another round with Mohammed Ali or even worse, Mike Tyson. Ever feel like you are having your ear chewed off?  😐

Galatians 5:1 

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

We see here in Galatians that Jesus set us free. 

He who is free is free indeed (John 8:36). 

So why doesn’t it feel like it?  Why don’t we walk like it?  Why don’t we talk like it?  It’s that old self that has become comfortable with the chaos. We have accepted our battles as, “the way it is.”  The chaos has become the norm.  The yoke of slavery is what we know.  What we know is comfortable and normal to us in a strange kind of way. 

This is why we are to renew our mind day by day by the word of God.  This is our transformation.  Just like a caterpillar. Going into the cocoon (us surrounding ourselves in the word, in the presence of God). And then being transformed into a beautiful Mariposa, a beautiful butterfly symbolizing freedom.

Butterfly World

Carmen and I, in returning from a trip to Miami, decided to travel up the east coast of Florida before cutting across state to go home.  We did a little research and found that along the way there was a place called Butterfly World!  Okay, not the biggest thrill for me. But Carmen was excited to stop with camera in hand. So being the great husband that I am, we stopped. 😊 

So, it was pretty cool.  Walking into the butterfly sanctuary and seeing all these butterflies of all shapes and sizes and colors!  There was something calming about it all.  Funny thing and quite the analogy, there was a storm going on outside. All the while we were there on the inside, in tranquility. 

In our worship, praise is how we take ourselves from the middle of the battle and recognize God’s presence all around us.  We don’t see into the 4^th dimension. But if we could (see into the spiritual realm), oh my!  This is one of my favorite sections of scripture:

2 Kings 6:15-17

¹⁵When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. ¹⁶ “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” ¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Surrounded (Fight My Battles)

This has become a favorite song, a favorite anthem of mine.  I hope you have the time to soak yourself in God’s presence here. Listening in to this song by Michael W Smith – Surrounded (Fight my Battles). 

If you just took the time to do that, I’m glad.  Did you feel that?  Did you not just know Jesus was with you, but did you actually experience it?  I sure did!  This is how we fight our battles.  By faith, we know Jesus is with us, but Praise (and worship) takes it to the next level.

I have some friends who have been battling cancer and who have various other burdens. They have been heavy on my heart many times. So when I get a burden for someone, this is how I fight my battles.  I go straight into the sanctuary (metaphorically) and I Praise God. I acknowledge who He is and what He has done. And in laying that (my burdens) at the cross, I am releasing myself from those burdens.

2 Corinthians 4:18

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Challenge today:  Surround yourself with Jesus by acknowledging the presence of Jesus. Sing your freedom. For you are free – free indeed! So be it.