Of Battles And Wars

~The "Thousand yard stare" of one who has seen his share of brutal combat~

And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid.  Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today.  For the Egyptians whom you see today, you will see again no more forever.  "The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."  And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me?  Tell the children of Isreal to go forward.  "But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it.  And the children of Isreal shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.  "And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them.  So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen.  "Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."  And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Isreal, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.  So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Isreal.  Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by the night to the other, so that the ob=ne did not come near the other all that night.  Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD  caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.
Exodus 14: 13 - 21 NKJV

There is an old saying out there which has many times in my own life proven be true.  When dealing with a certain situation (difficult people, trying circumstances), you can most certainly win the battle and end up losing the war.  That is, you may end up conquering one situation, only to have another overcome you.  What price do we put on those smaller victories we enjoy?  In Exodus 14, the Isrealites had just won one battle (Freedom from the Egyptians), but they still faced many more battles in this larger war.  For they still faced Pharaohs pursuing army, a journey through the desert into a unknown land and many more trials to come.  Yes, they had gained their freedom, but at what cost was this battle?  Well, the Isrealites would soon discover that their freedom from Egypt would bring hunger and thirst along their journey.  In fact, there were more than a few times when these Isrealites, despite having gained their freedom which they so desperately cried to God for, would turn to Moses and cry out, "Why have you brought us to this place?  Were we not better off in Egypt?"  Of course, it was during these times of difficulty that the Lord God of Isreal heard the cries of His people and provided for them.  Yet another battle won.  It seems that the Isrealites had at times lost focus on that big picture.  The one where God guides and provides for us through our times of need.  Hadn't He provided for their freedom from the Egyptians?  Hadn't He provided for them as they cried out to Him?  In a lot of ways, we today are like the Isrealites of old, often forgetting those times when our heavenly Father has taken us in His hands and provided for us.

Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians.  And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the face of Isreal, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians."  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen."  And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it.  So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.  Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them.  Not so much as one of them remained.  But the children of Isreal had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.  So the LORD saved Isreal that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Isreal saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.  Thus Isreal saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.
Exodus 14: 24 - 31 NKJV

I want to make it clear, that when I claim that many of us often forget the good works which God has done in our own lives, I speak for myself as well.  Yes, I remember most of those major "Battles" which God has seen me through, but there are also many other skirmishes which I do not recall.  However, I can honestly say that with Christ Jesus within me {Galations 2:20}, I have won many more of these battles than I have lost.  It does seem to stand to reason, that we often recall our losses more than we do our own victories.  Any soldier, athlete or christian will admit that the sting of defeat is a tough pill to swallow.  So much so, that famed General George Patton once claimed that he wouldn't "Give a hoot in hell" for a man who lost, and laughed.  Such is the sting of defeat in battle.  Whether it is our bruised ego, or just plain losing, we often dread its consequences so.  For to admit defeat is to admit failure.  And who wants that?  My friends, we can learn a lot from those Isrealites of long ago.  For God did not ignore their cries, nor will he ignore our own.  The important thing to remember is that as with the Isrealites, we NEVER face these battles and wars on our own behalf.  We are never called upon to go it alone in this life.  For as surely as our old sin natures have been crucified with Jesus on that cross {Romans 6:6-11}, we now live and walk AS JESUS who is within us.  These are not our battles and wars, the fight belongs to Christ.

~Scott~