Weapons and Victories

What does God ask of us?  We offer Him our prayers, worship, offerings, and much more. Today I want to talk about our battles, and our victories.

In the Old Testament we see that God championed His people. They were to give Him credit for their victories so that the surrounding nations would see God’s power and splendor.  God made Himself known to the unbelieving through the trials and battles of the believing.

There is a story about an Israelite called “Gideon” who led a small army of 300 men to defeat the Midianites (Judges 7).  We not only see that God gave them victory, but He also led Gideon to choose an unusual set of weapons for the men who fought.  They routed their enemy by blowing trumpets, breaking earthen vessels, and carrying torches.  For us, the trumpets represent God’s message spoken through us.  Concerning the earthen vessels, Paul writes that we are earthen vessels, full of God’s treasure . . . and that even the contrast between our nature and His shows that the “all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Cor 4:7). And of course the torches represent the light of God’s Spirit shining in the darkness.  Though the story of Gideon is real, its concepts can be symbolically interpreted through the symbolic weapons they used.  God uses these examples as truthes wherein He continues to speak to us today.

The world may display guns on their walls and cannons in museums, but God never meant for us to glorify weapons of men.  The weapons of our warfare are not of this world (2 Cor 10:4).  Though we personally experience the pain and perplexity of every battle, the war is not solely about us.  God still wants to show Himself mighty to the unbelievers.  Our victories, and the weapons we use to gain them are of God. He is the treasure inside our earthen vessels, and we are the earth, made from dust.

Some of our enemy’s weapons are intimidation and false accusation.  Being a teacher, I often have thoughts about my inability to teach well.  I have accepted these thoughts for a while because I value humility.  When I eventually came to the place of thinking about resigning my position, God did something incredible.  Over one month’s time, three students told me that they liked the way I taught.  A forth student said that, when she came to my questions on a test, she heard my voice in her head.  Wow!  Then, after I gave a brief speech at a function, a trained and gifted professor from a neighboring university told me that I was a very good speaker.  A participant in one of my in-services told me she like my class and that it was very interesting.  And finally, the president of the college I work in was given a compliment about my work training nurses by the director of a clinical facility.  Double wow!  Never have I had so much affirmation. 

The Lord reviewed these affirmations with me, saying “These are the weapons of your warfare.” After I acknowledged that I could teach, He stated that both the weapons and the victory glorified Him.  Do you remember how this lesson began?  I wrote “What does God ask of us?” This brings me to His final statement; “Give your weapons back to Me so that I will be glorified.” The Lord is asking that we acknowledge that the victories come from His works in and through us, and that we should give Him credit so that He will be glorified.  I don’t need to hang my affirmations around so that others would think well of me. I shouldn’t get a letter of reference from the professional speaker so that I too can enter that field.  What I can do is dismiss my enemy’s lies, which is the battle I was losing.  I can let the Lord be glorified in the gift of teaching He gave me by thanking Him and by acknowledging His guidance, for my battle is bigger than me; my light should shine to those around me.  Amen.