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Fighting from Victory - Weekly Devotional
This week's focus: Victory
I was at the gym the other day and instead of running on the treadmill, I decided to try an elliptical machine to change things up. I was surprised to see it had a mixed martial arts (MMA) workout as an option. The workout tries to mimic MMA bouts and scrolls messages across the screen encouraging you to “throw it” and “punch and move.” The last command it gives before you “step into the ring,” is simply, “Size up your opponent and fight!”
I’m pretty tough when I’m in a pretend MMA match but if I ever stepped into a real ring with a trained martial arts fighter, I would get it handed to me! In reality, I hate fighting and I’m not a fan of confrontation. Unfortunately, Ephesians 6:12 makes it clear that God’s children are in a battle but the fight is with spiritual forces of wickedness in the Heavenlies. If we were to fight in our own strength, we would be down for the count in record time. Fortunately, Jesus is our champion who has already disarmed Satan at the cross and has guaranteed our eternal salvation.
His accomplishment means we are fighting from victory and not for victory. His knock-out punch happened when He conquered death and rose from the grave, stripping the enemy of his title. We now have the authority to push back against evil, understanding there’s no change without confrontation.
We live in a fallen world and as the days get increasingly dark and wicked, we have no choice but to enter the battle. (Nehemiah 4:14)
Now more than ever, we must be bold and courageous and fight for our loved ones, our nation, our peace of mind, and for future generations. As Ronald Reagan once said, “evil is powerless when the righteous are unafraid.”
Proverbs 24:11-12 sounds like an urgent plea for us to step in and do something when it says, “Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back.”
We have been given authority over the enemy for a reason and if we choose to do nothing then evil will continue to triumph.
(contributed by Jennifer McAlister. Her devotionals are featured in Bible.com, Faith and Fitness Magazine, and her book Press On: Stories of endurance, faith, and trust. Her passion includes empowering young women to make healthy, life-affirming decisions as a counselor at a pregnancy center.)
Nehemiah 4:14 (NASB)
When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
Prayer Points:
- Lord, help us to be bold and confident in You. We know that You have not given us a spirit of fear, so embolden us with Your Spirit. When we feel weary, help us to remember that this battle we are in is not against flesh and blood but principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places.
- Today is National Freedom Day, a day founded to celebrate the freedoms we enjoy as U.S. citizens, freedoms we should never take for granted. Specifically, the holiday commemorates the day in 1865 when President Abraham Lincoln signed what would later become the 13th Amendment which effectively ended slavery in the United States. Pray for the preservation of our freedoms in this nation. And take time to give thanks to God for we have been set free from sin by the Son of God who said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36)
We want to see God honored in America, and we pray for an unprecedented spiritual awakening.
This devotion was produced in partnership with Every Home for Christ.
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Please invite us to pray for the members of the Supreme Court that among other things they take up the responsibility of examining irregularities in our elections when asked to do so, as they were when partitioned by the attorney generals of several states. Had they taken that case, when the opportunity arose, we might have been spared the current dissension.