2 Chronicles 20:15
He said, "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.'"
Our house sits in the middle of a forest populated mainly by deciduous hardwoods. We are smack dab in the middle of fall, and you know what that means. Leaves! Tons of them! Raining from the sky. Covering our decks. Smothering our yard.
Fall isn't called 'fall' for nothing!
And, when it comes to keeping the decks cleared and the yard clean, we have our work cut out for us. I whisk away the broom while my husband, Danny, wields the leaf blower. Together, we tackle the onslaught. Battle back the blitz of leaf troops which seems to gain ground (literally) daily. Here is a pile I'm in the midst of sweeping up the other day after heavy winds and rain brought in reinforcements.
And, here is what the deck looked like a day later.
The battle rages on . . .
And, many days, I feel like the leaves are winning. Even when I know that, eventually, all of them will have dropped. That I will, at some point, sweep the last soldier off the deck and Danny will blow the last warrior from the yard. The losing battle turned into a war won.
Wouldn't it be splendid if every battle we face on life's journey had a guaranteed winning outcome? Unfortunately, that's not the case. We lose a job, go through a divorce, lose a loved one, endure a chronic illness. And, sometimes, the fallout from our wounds can leave us feeling hopeless and helpless.
It doesn't have to be that way. All that can change when we stop clinging to our own methods for waging war against the enemy, and hand the battle over to God. Waving our white flags. Surrendering to His will. Trusting in His ways.
"And, we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)
He is with us. He cares. He is able, ready and willing to aid us in every battle we face.
God will make it a win-win. Every time . . .
~
What battles are you facing in your life today?
Will you pray with me?
Let us, Father, in hope and trust and humility, not be afraid of or discouraged by the battles of this life, but hand everything over to you with praise and thanksgiving. We know the ultimate battle belongs to You. May we ever raise our white flags in surrender to Your will. Amen.
To listen to the song 'White Flag' by Chris Tomlin, click here.
We fall and we rise...and never lose our belief in HIM. Nice post Martha.
ReplyDeleteYes, no matter what, we must have faith! Thanks so much for visiting, Janaki, and glad you enjoyed the post!
DeleteLove and blessings!
I am wishing you well in your battle with the leaves Martha:) You can't win always but you can have daily wins when you are temporarily ahead of the leaves. haha and you win with the help of the weather which takes us from fall to winter and then onto spring:)
ReplyDeletethis is also a great anology for life which sometimes doesn't have winning outcomes. During overwhelming battles in life, I think faith, surrender and handing over our larger-than-life problems to God is the only way to go. It's definitely a win-win because adversity brings us closer to God and makes our relationship stronger with God!
Thanks for dropping by today, Vishnu!
DeleteIronically, it's true that adversity can draw us closer to God; that's when we cry out for help and comfort. I remind myself, too, though, that I need to lean on Him everyday, no matter what is going on in my life, good or bad.
And, with God on our side, what can man (or battles) ever do to us?
Blessings to you!
There are reasons God makes us endure and lose battles. It is for us to learn and become stronger and wiser from the experience. He does have a reason for suffering. Sometimes it is only to remind us we need Him. I love your posts and your teachings here. Leaves are always overwhelming here too. I finally learned to wait until the leaves were basically all down before I even began the fight. This year I blew all the leaves into piles and waited till my husband finally came home until we picked them all up and got them in one big pile to burn. Needless to say, by the time he showed up near Thanksgiving we were out picking up my piles in blowing snow. Seriously! We got them done though! Love your posts. They make me feel connected to God and remind me how involved He is in my life. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by, Kathy!
DeleteOh, wow! It sounds like you battle those leaves at your house as much as we do here. Only, I would hate to have to deal with them in the snow, too. Ouch! Glad you got the job done, though.:)
I'm so gratified to know you enjoy my posts; I do think we all, me especially, need to be reminded that God's hand is in all things. Writing this blog certainly helps me to see that.
Love and blessings!
Thanks Martha !
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome, Dave! ) Blessings!
ReplyDelete