Wars, battles, fighting…it all permeates our world history, and is certainly not excluded from the Bible. David is arguably one of the most notorious battle leaders chronicled within the Bible and most of those wars were directed—even mandated—by God. But neither history nor society hold an exclusive on battles. There are emotional battles waged within ourselves, spiritual battles that keep us in conflict with our faith and our beliefs...we even battle life itself as it delivers its offerings of pending mortality.
So the big question is, “Who wins when a battle is engaged?”
When my mom died on Christmas day 2012 is was the conclusion of a thirteen year battle with that ubiquitous and sinister disease we call cancer. One might deduce that the insidious disease finally won. I challenge that, however, because victory—as God has so often shown us—is in the eye of the beholder. The fact that God is in ultimate control over this world means the eye from which we see things ought to be from God’s perspective.
In my mom’s case, she defeated her disease while alive by transcending her own pain and suffering and transforming it into positive reinforcement for others suffering similar conditions. She took that which most of us would simply complain about and chose to use her fight as an opportunity to show her kids and grandkids that they were more important to her than her internal struggles. This kind of “dealing with life” modeling is priceless and will never be forgotten. When she died, she once again defeated her enemy by transforming her limited body to an eternal and glorious body...one which now resides with her Savior.
Let’s face it, dealing with life can be a crappy endeavor and we will always be in a battle with someone or some thing. What the Bible shows us—and people like my mom show us—is that battles are not always about winning so much as they are about rising above. When God told people like David to go to war against someone, it was not motivated by the “good group” defeating the “bad group”...it was an expression of rising above what the human heart is compelled to do and follow the voice of God. In the same manner, we must battle the things we face in life not with our human mind and heart, but with the voice of God as our driving force.
I don’t know all the reasons why bad things happen to good people and fortunes fall into the laps of bad people; however, I do know there is a Savior that sees far beyond our earthly behaviors, trials and battles and is willing to intervene His divine wisdom if we ask Him with a sincere heart.
We may not feel victorious on a day to day basis, but if we are willing to be honest with ourselves—and look beyond the crap life gives us—those who have truly given their lives over to Jesus can be assured that we are not battling this life alone. If we are faithful to look at life through the eyes of our Lord and Savior we will surely be victorious.
Blessings!
Greg Morton
© May 1, 2013
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