Fighting our Battles by Focusing on Truth

On the last evening of an online Zoom Bible study I taught, I encouraged the participants to be on their guard. “We’ve just studied five names of God,” I said. “Don’t be surprised if a test comes along in the not too distant future. Be watchful but don’t be afraid. It will give you opportunity to practice what you’ve learned.”

I had no way of knowing that my test was waiting around the corner.

The test

The next evening, I learned that someone dear to me had received a cancer diagnosis. The news came out of nowhere and left me stunned.

Forty-eight hours later, I learned that we were losing the facility that housed our ministry office, a few personal possessions that survived our purge in 2018, and all my ministry resources. The last time this happened, we spent five months searching for space. All the office equipment and my resources stayed in our basement interim. But this time, we live on a boat. Where would we store those things now?.

The landlord gave us a deadline to vacate the building, but we were in northern British Columbia at the time, helping our youngest daughter through a difficult pregnancy. In order to meet the deadline, we would have to find a new space without seeing it in person.

My next book manuscript was coming due, and I’d scheduled time to write it, but those plans would now change to accommodate packing and moving our office.

My thoughts tugged me towards worry and what-ifs. I had to intentionally lasso them and reel them back where they belonged—in captivity to Jesus. Having a better grasp on the names of God and their relevancy to my life was a big help.

God helps us understand who He is through His names.

For instance, “Jehovah Sabaoth” tells us that He is the Lord of hosts. He commands the armies of men, millions of angels, and the stars in the sky. He’s the One who goes to battle on our behalf. Amazing, right?

We fight our battles by focusing on truth. The truth is, Almighty God is on our side. The enemy of our soul wants us to believe otherwise, so he whispers lies intended to lead us to believe defeat is imminent. In most cases, those lies come from within. In some cases, they come from those around us.

David wrote about this when fleeing from Absalom:

“So many are saying, ‘God will never rescue him!’” (Psalm 3:2 NLT)

David refused to listen to the voices. He focused on truth instead:

“But you, O LORD, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain” (Psalm 3:3-4).

He ended his prayer with,

“Victory comes from you, O Lord. May you bless your people” (Psalm 3:8). 

While we do our part, victory ultimately comes from Jehovah Sabaoth. With that in mind, I chose to view those challenges not as reasons to worry but as opportunities to practice what I preach and to see Jehovah Sabaoth work. He did not disappoint.