God is For You

“Your God can’t protect you,” they were told. “No one has withstood my powerful army. No other gods have been able to protect their people from my vast army. As a matter of fact, your God has sent me to destroy you. Follow me and I’ll give you everything you need!”

These were the taunts spewed at the people of Jerusalem by the King of Assyria.

Threats. Half-truths. Lies. Intimidation. Fear. The King of Assyria used psychological warfare to get his opponents to acquiesce to his will.

Make no mistake, the enemy of our souls, still uses the same tactics. I have two different set of parents threatening me at this moment. One is threatening to have me fired. The other is trying to stronghold me to do what she wants with guilt.

We are all in a battle. Maybe you are fighting for your finances, you marriage, your children, your health, your reputation. Whatever the fight, we can learn from King Hezekiah and fight well.

1. Avoid arguing. King Hezekiah had instructed his people not to respond to the threats of the King of Assyria.

For me, this is hard. I want to defend myself. I want to tell my side of the story. I want to vindicate myself in the court of public opinion. But no matter what I say to this father, it is easier to blame me than face the truth about his son and his parenting skills. The mother of the other student wants a win and is like a mother bear protecting her cub and refuses to recognize the cub’s culpability.

2. Seek the word of the Lord. Hezekiah sent for the prophet, Isaiah. Seek the counsel of godly men and women in your life. Read the Word. Ask God for wisdom.

Last night as I was stewing, reading these emails, the Lord gave me this bit of wisdom:

“Never be motivated by fear or guilt.”

Flee from anything that is trying to manipulate you to do something if their tactic involves fear or guilt. It is not from God. God motivates with love and mercy. Remember, God has not given us a spirit of fear. Therefore, He doesn’t motivate by fear. He died on the cross to remove our guilt. Therefore it would be counterproductive to motivate by guilt.

3. Pray. After the King of Assyria threaten Hezekiah, Hezekiah spread the threat before the Lord and prayed. In an act of surrender, he gave this assault against him to the Lord.

Never underestimate the power of prayer. Prayer seems passive. We want to engage physically in the battle. But the most powerful weapon of warfare is prayer. Remember, however, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against evil in high places.

My fight is not with that father or that mother but against anger, control, fear, frustration. I need to pray as such.

4. Believe. I love the word God gave to Hezekiah:

“Tell the King of Assyria, I know where he lives.”

As the kids today would say, “Buuuuurn!” Hezekiah did not have to raise a sword. King of Assyria died in his home by the hands of his own children.

Believe God will fight your battle more efficiently and brilliantly than you can ever think, dream, or imagine.

5. Obey. Cooperate with God. Do what God tells you to do. No more. No less.

Friends if you are experiencing warfare – a scary diagnosis, an accuser, a child who is lost, a threat to your livelihood – remember God is for you! He fights your battle. Don’t be afraid.

““And this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: “‘His armies will not enter Jerusalem. They will not even shoot an arrow at it. They will not march outside its gates with their shields nor build banks of earth against its walls. The king will return to his own country by the same road on which he came. He will not enter this city,’ says the Lord. ‘For my own honor and for the sake of my servant David, I will defend this city and protect it.’””
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭37‬:‭33‬-‭35‬ ‭NLT‬‬

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