"When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you."
There was so much encouragement offered in that verse that I would like to share.
We all know in life that we have battles. There is no getting around that. In this verse the context was that the Israelites would have military battles, but we can also make the application to life's battles that we all face.
In the verse it says that at times, the enemy is going to outnumber you. Let me put it this way for us today, at times the odds will be stacked against you. We all enjoy enjoy a battle when we have the odds on our side. But in life we often have challenges and battles where the odds are against us coming through. Examples? Too much month left at the end of the money. Rumors of losing your job. Marriage problems. So often we see situations that didn't turn out well for others and think that we will experience the same outcome. The list could go on and on. In life we are often in situations where the odds don't favor a positive outcome on our part.
When the odds are stacked against us, this is where that we still have to trust in God. I admit, it is not always easy to trust when the odds are stacked against you. I wish I could say that I always trust and I'm never afraid, but it's not true. What does help though is that the verse says in those times," don't be afraid of them." Why does this help? It says that I have a choice. I can choose to be afraid or not. I don't have to automatically give in to fear. Why? for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you.
The Israelites had been in slavery to the Egyptians for hundreds of years. But God set them free through various miracles and great acts. If you have ever seen the 10 Commandments on TV, that movie shows what God did. So what God was essentially saying was, "Remember you have been in impossible situations before, but I brought you out. The odds were stacked against you before, but I brought you through." We haven't come out of a literal Egypt in our lives, but God has brought us out of some impossible situations. So when the odds are stacked against us in life God wants us to reflect on what He has done for us in the past. This is so important, because if we don't keep reminding ourselves of what God has done for us the enemy will continually tell you what God is not going to do. You have heard his voice in your mind before," this situation isn't going to change", "God isn't going to help", "take matters into your own hands", "things never work out for you", "you aren't worthy of God's help". Again, the list could go on and on as to what the enemy says to us to try to discourage us. But remember that God tells us to reflect on what He has done for us in the past. He has brought us through some impossible situations.
So, there are going to be times when the odds are going to be stacked against us. God's Word tells us not to be afraid. For God who has helped us before when the odds were stacked against us, is with us. God is there to help.
If God is for us, who is against us?
Romans 8:31b
Troy
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