Deuteronomy. Day 72, Going To War, Part One: God Goes With You

Chapter 20 has to do with going to war. The first thing the Lord says to the Israelites about going to war is not to be afraid. They are not to be afraid because He is with them. We can apply these words of encouragement to our own lives because this world is a battlefield and we sometimes feel like we scarcely get done fighting one battle before the enemy attacks us from another direction. But we aren't to live by our feelings and give in to fear or discouragement. We are to live by the truth of God's word. He has promised to always be with us and we can be confident that He is with us, even when in the heat of battle we are so busy fighting that we can't concentrate on the calming sense of His presence.

The Israelites are going to have to fight the tribes of the promised land so Moses begins his sermon by saying "when" you go to war, not "if" you go to war. "When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you." (Deuteronomy 20:1) It doesn't matter how fierce the enemy is. It doesn't matter how many soldiers are in the enemy army. It doesn't matter if the enemy is more technologically advanced. What matters is that the Lord is with Israel. 

During a time of trouble King David said, "Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!" (Psalm 3:1) But he also said in that same psalm, "I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side." (Psalm 3:6) In another hymn to the Lord he proclaimed, "Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident." (Psalm 27:3) David could make these strong affirmations of faith because his confidence was in his God. 

You and I are going to fight enemies. The enemy may not always be our fellow man, though there will be those who dislike us and who may even actively try to harm our reputations or our relationships or our success in school or at the workplace. But far more often our battles are with non-human enemies. Not only does Satan, the enemy of our souls, wish us ill and try to tempt us into sinning against our God, but we'll be confronted in this life with the types of things that just naturally occur in a fallen world. We'll have to deal with family problems such as wayward children or marital struggles. We may get laid off work or have trouble advancing at work the way we expected to. We'll have big expenses come up at financially inconvenient times. We'll have loved ones who get sick. We will be sick sometimes ourselves. We will grieve loved ones who pass out of this life before we do. There are all sorts of things that come against us in this world that may make us want to dissolve into fear, but always---always, always, always---our God is with us! 

Anxiety is capable of keeping us from feeling as if the Lord is with us, but that's why He gave us the promise of His continual presence in our lives, so we can be confident of that fact instead of relying on our feelings. When David was besieged on every side, I am sure there were moments when he felt uneasy and unsettled. I am sure he didn't always feel the presence of the Lord right by his side while he was in the midst of troubles. But he repeatedly said, "I will not fear" because he believed the promises of God. He knew God was with him. He knew he wasn't alone and that's what made the difference.

Before each battle, the spiritual leader of Israel is to address the troops. Nothing can rally the troops better than reminding them that God is with them and fights on their side. "When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. He shall say: 'Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory." (Deuteronomy 20:2-4)

You and I live in enemy territory every day of our lives. This world is a battlefield and we never know what might come at us next but that doesn't mean we have to lose our confidence. That doesn't mean we have to fall prey to panic and continue to live in that state day after day. Granted, we may all have moments of panic. We've all had things happen that we didn't see coming. There are going to be times when we'll receive upsetting news or have an unexpected expense come up and think, "What shall I do? How is this going to turn out?" It's natural to have moments like that. But it's not the Lord's will for us to persist in a state of fear. It's bad for our mental health, our physical health, our emotional health, and our spiritual health. We have to remind ourselves, "My God is with me! I won't face anything alone. I'm living in a fallen world---in enemy territory---and I don't know what battles may come against me today. But I will not be fainthearted or afraid. I will not panic or be terrified. The Lord my God is the one who goes with me to fight for me against my enemies to give me victory."

I'm inserting a link below to a song that is very special to me in this season of life. It reminds us that we are never alone in the fire of adversity. Just as there was a fourth man (the Lord) in the fiery furnace with Meschach, Shadrach, and Abednego, the Lord is in the fire with us too.

Another In The Fire