Hope. The one thing that stands resolutely against all odds. When the fight grows long, and our muscles begin to quiver from overuse, there is hope. When the armies lay siege to our final city, completely encompassing us leaving us with no escape route and few rations, there is hope. When the ground shakes as they charge towards our crumbling walls, and we make a final stand to protect those who we hold dear, there is hope.
There is hope.
Many times through my life I have surveyed the battlefield in front of me, observing the ebb and flow of my own personal struggles laid out in carnage before me. In those moments I often am overwhelmed with the grief of it all, an utter despondence washing over me as it becomes immediately apparent that the fight may have been in vain, that there is no way to move forward. I stand a broken man, solitary before an endless army that constantly assaults my faculties.
But we are never alone.
When my mother was called home, I remember facing that old foe wondering how I could ever move forward. When I packed my car after college to leave the comfort of my friends and community to follow God's calling with no place to stay and no job, the enemy besieged my fortifications. When I moved to Abbotsford into a new community unsure of what would come before me, they scaled the walls and we skirmished on the battlement. When I handed in my resignation unsure of what was to come next, it felt as though the front gates were blown inward and fighting was amidst the courtyard.
We each fight our own battles. Some of them are all our own, fully internal: self-image, self-doubt, an existential crisis, family conflict, job struggles. Some play out where everyone can see: a debilitating sickness, miscarriage, divorce, bankruptcy.
Life is full of conflicts that threaten to overwhelm us, so who do you have fighting for you?
The Lord is my light and my salvation—We do not fight these battles, the outcomes have already been won. Often when I find myself weary amidst the army, I discover that I am fighting with my own strength. I am attempting to win victory for myself, claim the glory for myself. In my strength, I have found myself weak.
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
-Psalm 27
God has already won my victory.
Our focus changes then, from fighting our own battles to allowing God to work His purpose in our lives. His heavenly army is in control of the situation, and like Daniel our duty is only to wait and listen upon Him.
If you find yourself today struggling in the darkness, come towards the Light. Your eyes will strain and your mind cringe at the overexposure, but it is the only way to freedom. If you find yourself weary from the battle, run to He who watches over you and let Him protect you. The battle is already won. It can get dark... but there is light.
In our weakness, He makes us strong.
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