When it was time for the children of Israel to enter into the promised land, the Lord gave them a word of encouragement to strengthen their faith. He told them that He would be with them, and that He would go before them in battle to secure their victory.
And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.
Deuteronomy 31:8 NKJV
You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.
Deuteronomy 3:22 NKJV
The same God who went before the children of Israel, will also go before us in order to secure our victory. Because the Lord is all knowing, He knows every battle we will face, as well as how to prepare and equip us, so that we can be victorious in battle and overcome the enemy. Jesus knows what the enemy is scheming and plotting against us, therefore as our loving Father – He warns us, equips us, and fights for us. Not only does the Lord go before us, but He is with us throughout the battle to help us, encourage us, and teach us how to be skillful in spiritual warfare. I have seen the Lord’s amazing faithfulness in this area countless times now.
I would like to give you one example from Scripture of how the Lord went before the Israelites to give them their battle strategy, as well as increase their faith for victory.
And when all these kings had met together, they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. But the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. (The Lord gives them faith for victory)
You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” (Battle plan from the Lord)
So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and they attacked them. And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who defeated them and chased them to Greater Sidon, to the Brook Misrephoth, and to the Valley of Mizpah eastward; they attacked them until they left none of them remaining. So Joshua did to them as the LORD had told him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.
Joshua 11:5-9 NKJV
Because we all face different kinds of spiritual battles, the Lord knows how to get a message through to us so that we can respond to His leading. The Lord goes before us to warn us of upcoming battles, give us a battle strategy, and increases our faith for victory. For example:
- The Lord may instruct us to pray against temptation, even before the temptation comes because He is warning us of the enemy’s plan. When the temptation does come, we will see that the Lord was faithful to warn us because He loves us, and He does not want us to fall into temptation and sin. Praying against temptation prepares us spiritually, so that we can resist the enemy’s devices, and come out of the battle with the victory.
- The Lord may instruct us to hold fast the confession of our faith, because He knows that a battle is coming which will test our faith.
- God may draw our attention to pictures of the armor of God because the upcoming battle will need us to be fully equipped, wearing the full armor of God. The Lord may even show us that there is a hole (or kink) in our armor where the enemy can get through. Or, the Holy Spirit may give us a specific Scripture to equip us, as the upcoming battle may require us to fight against the enemy using the sword of the Spirit.
- We also know that one of the main ways God speaks to us is through His written Word. The Holy Spirit will draw our attention to something specific as we read His word, and we will just know that God is giving us a message. If we feel like we need more information, we can pray and ask the Lord for discernment and the knowledge of His will pertaining to the message He is giving us.
I’d like to close off this message with a word of encouragement. If we feel like we have struggled to discern the warnings from the Lord in the past, but we can pray and ask the Holy Spirit to make us even more sensitive to His leading. We can ask Him to sharpen our discernment and help us see His warnings more clearly. We can ask Him to help us understand the battle strategy He is giving us in order to equip us for the battle which lies ahead of us. The Lord is faithful, and He will do it. Thank You precious Jesus for Your goodness and faithfulness!
I pray this message blesses and encourages you in Jesus mighty name.
Until next time – goodbye and God bless.