“For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”
Deuteronomy 20:4 NIV
Fighting on My Behalf
Throughout the 20th century, many Indigenous people enlisted in military service to fight wars, risk their lives and make monumental sacrifices on Canada’s behalf. According to author John Moses, a member of the Delaware and Upper Mohawk bands from Six Nations of the Grand River, and a Canadian Armed Forces veteran, his father signed up in order to escape the horrific experiences he had growing up in the Mohawk Residential School in Brantford. In the military “The clothing was better, the food was better, and the discipline was less severe.”
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Even the nicest person has enemies. I know many followers of Jesus around the world, gentle men and women of faith, who have never done anything but love others, who are hated simply because they love Jesus and are living according to Biblical standards. Enemies who are other human beings are easy to identify. It isn’t so easy to recognize enemies who are not visible. In Deuteronomy 20:4 we read: “For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” Christians are called to lay down our lives for others. The Bible says that we do not fight with the weapons of the world. Our weapons are spiritual – prayer, time in God’s word, fasting, fellowship, etc. Our battle, ultimately, is in the spiritual realm. Satan doesn’t want us living in victory – he comes to do his best to trip us up and fall into sin. We have the promise here that God is fighting our battles for us. He understands the enemy, and as we take up our spiritual weapons, God sends the host of heaven to insure our victory.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley