Let God Fight Your
Battles
By HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG
THE WORLD you live in today is a very
troubled world. You not only have your own personal problems, but you also
suffer from the opposition and antagonism of the world around you.
It is time you considered how to
conquer these troubles -- how to be free from them -- how to let GOD fight your
battles instead!
First, understand this: If the world
today is not happy -- if world conditions are in a chaotic state -- if lives
are empty and purposeless -- if minds are filled with fears and worries, bodies
wracked with sickness and disease -- THERE IS A REASON! Conditions are what we
make them!
Mortal humans, groping in the darkness
of confusion, have made conditions what they are. Humanity is reaping what it
has sown! Only the direct and all-powerful supernatural intervention of
Almighty God can deliver this world from all its troubles.
What the world doesn't know is that God
will not cause its present ways of wrong living to bring any HUMAN Utopia.
Rather, God Almighty will soon have to step in and RULE over the world --
bringing it into the ways of His just laws, which alone can produce this happy
tomorrow!
We, too, have lessons to learn. Even
though stubborn and rebellious mankind brings upon the world even darker days
in the immediate future, remember -- it's darkest just before dawn. Take hope
in the sure knowledge that the new world of God's making -- and ruling -- is
very near today!
But in the meantime, what about YOU,
and your own private life and problems? Let us consider some of your own
private, personal troubles. I know that you have them! And I want to tell you
something -- I want to tell you good news. You are carrying a lot of worries,
fears, and troubles THAT YOU DON'T NEED TO CARRY!
Life is simply filled with private,
personal battles. We have to battle fears and worries. Sometimes it seems we
have to battle PEOPLE who APPEAR to be enemies, and whether you realize it or
not, YOU also have to battle YOURSELF!
It is like having to fight a host of
enemies -- all these troubles, these circumstances, these adverse conditions,
these temptations! But there is a way you may free yourself from these troubles
that confront you. There is a way out! You can be free from fighting all of
these enemies except just ONE -- your own self, and you can receive a lot of
help, and knowledge, and power in doing that!
Here's where that help can be found!
The Eternal Creator-Ruler of the
universe -- the God who gives you the very air you breathe -- sent His own
begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into this world over 1900 years ago to bring you
THE WAY OF DELIVERANCE from all your trials, your worries, your problems. Why
then do some of you not listen to the way He taught us? And why do so many
people think of Him as a dead Christ hanging on a cross? God Almighty raised
Him from the dead! Jesus Christ is our living Savior and High Priest, just as
the Creator is a living ruler of all the universe!
Do you realize the Jesus Christ, the
living resurrected Christ, to whom is given ALL POWER, has a present mission to
perform? Do you realize that His present mission is to FIGHT YOUR BATTLES FOR
YOU -- to deliver you -- to free you from all your fears, your troubles, and
even the circumstances that beset you?
Now think this over carefully, and answer
this! Why do you fight your own battles, when He -- the living Savior -- is
living in all power to fight them for you?
He's real. He's divine. Why do some of
you go on worrying, when He is right there in all the power of the divine
Creator to free you from all your worries?
Why? There is one of two reasons.
Either you have not fully KNOWN of this great, all-encompassing divine source
of power which you can call on at will -- you have not realized what
ALL-CONQUERING HELP you can have -- or else you have through lack of faith or
neglect, FAILED TO CALL ON that supernatural help in your times of need!
Can I open your eyes to see that God is
a God of love -- that God in all His supreme power wills above all things for
you to prosper, and be in health, and to find the way to the happy, full,
abundant life? (III John 2; John 10:10.) That Jesus Christ is a LIVING SAVIOR,
to whom you can go at all times -- a Savior to save you from your present
everyday fears and worries, adverse circumstances, troubles, sicknesses, and
trials, as well as to save you from eternal death at the end?
Notice what Scripture commands:
"So let us approach the throne of grace WITH CONFIDENCE, that we may
receive mercy and find grace TO HELP US IN THE HOUR OF NEED." (Heb. 4:16,
Moffatt).
God's salvation is not something you
collect only after you die -- it is a practical, common-sense, useful salvation
which starts in your everyday life right here and now!
What needless pains some have been
suffering. What needless fears and worries you may have been carrying around.
What wonderful times -- what happiness -- you may have cheated yourself out of,
just because you have not realized, and taken advantage of, the very present
and all-powerful help of your living Savior!
Actually what is happening is that you
may have found yourself faced with foes far more powerful than you. These foes may come in forms of troubles, of unforeseen
circumstances, of worries, of sicknesses, or even of other persons. These foes
need not make your life unhappy.
Did you ever really think through the
full meaning of I Cor. 10:11 -- that the incidents in the lives of God's people
of Old Testament times were written into the Bible for OUR learning and help?
I want now to turn to the experience of
a man who lived in that time. This man found that he could RELY on the Almighty
God. This man was faced with a far more terrifying trouble than has ever beset
you. He found the happy solution. His experience will show you what you can do,
this very day!
Once you understand, you will have to
learn to take God at His Word -- to call upon God in prayer -- you will have to
ask God for what you need -- and you may have to learn how to pray.
God Almighty will actually INTERVENE in
your life, and help you, and fight your battles for you. Remember, God is no
respecter of persons. He will not do more for one than another. He will do as
much for you, as for any person who ever lived. He will do as much for you --
if you obey Him and rely on Him -- as for any ancient king of
You may have a problem that completely
overwhelms you. You may be at your wits' end -- you may not know where to turn,
or what to do! It may be a family problem, a personal problem, a financial
problem, a problem of sickness or disease.
But let me tell you now as God's
minister of a man who came upon a situation probably far more terrifying than
yours -- one that would throw fright and terror into the stoutest heart. The
solution this man used will solve your problems -- put an end to your troubles.
The same God who heard and delivered him will hear and deliver you -- IF YOU
WILL obey Him and trust Him.
The fact that this man was an ancient
king makes no difference. God is no respecter of persons -- He will do as much
for you. God is the same today and tomorrow as He was yesterday. This man was
King Hezekiah of the ancient
The vast armies of
If some of you try to solve your
problems, or overcome your bad habits, or resist sin in nothing more than your
OWN power and strength, you, too, will find yourself outnumbered, overpowered,
and doomed to defeat! You must learn, as this ancient king did, that God stands
ready and willing to fight your battles for you. Read his experience in II
Chron. 32:1-22, from the Moffatt translation: "It was after this, after all
this loyal service, that Senacherib king of
"Then, appointing officers over
the citizens, he gathered them in the open space at the gate of the city, and
encouraged them. 'Be firm,' he said, 'be brave, be not
daunted nor dismayed for the king of Assyria or for all his host; we have with
us One greater than all he has; he has a mortal force, but we have with us the
Eternal our God, TO HELP US AND TO FIGHT OUR BATTLES."
Continuing, "His (Senacherib's)
officers said even worse things against God the Eternal and his servant
Hezekiah. (Senacherib also wrote letters, insulting the Eternal the God of
Israel and attacking him thus: 'As the gods of the nations elsewhere in the
world have failed to save their folk from me, so shall Hezekiah's God fail to
save his folk.') The officers shouted aloud in Hebrew to the citizens of
Now notice what the king of
Here's what happened: "Then the
Eternal sent an angel who swept off all the gallant fighters, the leaders, and
captains in the camp of the king of
That experience was written into the
very Word of God for YOUR learning, and TO SHOW YOU THE WAY TODAY!
Perhaps you are faced with a foe more
powerful than you. It may be some temptation. It may be some circumstance or
condition, or trouble -- some serious worry. Then let me ask you, "What
are you relying on, to withstand the siege of this trouble -- to deliver you
from it?"
What do some of you do when some fear,
worry, trouble, comes up against you? Do you not first fear and worry, and then
either try to RUN FROM this trouble, or else try to meet it in YOUR own power
and strength -- with YOUR own thinking and planning, and doing?
Do you ever search your own heart and
life to see if it is YOUR FAULT? In almost every in-law or marital trouble, for
example, both are at fault.
Did you never realize that the very
Creator who caused you to be born -- who gives you the life you have -- is able
and anxious to fight all these battles for you just as He did Hezekiah's, if
you will only turn to Him and ask Him for wisdom and guidance, rely on Him, and
trust Him with the result?
I know of a young lady, who, when in
her middle twenties, had a problem that was most serious in her life. Three
times this girl had been disappointed in love. She had at last been tempted to
marry a man she had no right to marry. She brought her problem to me, as God's
representative. I found she was looking only at physical appearances. She
reasoned that, so far as she could see, if she obeyed God and refused to marry
this man, she might NEVER be married. I counselled her to obey God -- to stop
looking at the material circumstances and using human reason to disobey God. I
counselled her to do, first of all, what God instructs in the Bible, and then
to trust Him for the outcome.
But that girl did not rely on God --
she relied on her human reason. She obeyed impulse and temptation, and married
the man. He left her to commit adultery with another woman on their very
wedding night. Her life became miserable, terribly unhappy.
Then at another time, another similar
case was brought to me. This young woman rejected the temptation -- she obeyed
God, and relied on the Eternal to work out circumstances -- she trusted Him
with the result. Her faith was tried and tested. God did not answer at once --
but in due time, just the right man came into her life, they fell in love, they
were married and God has blessed their marriage with supreme happiness.
Now I want to bring you one more case
history -- a remarkable experience that will show you the way out of all your
difficulties and troubles.
If you will let God have His way in
your life, then you will have begun to learn how to let Him fight your battles,
solve your problems, and deliver you from so many troubles you are suffering.
Now, notice the experience written for
our learning and help, today:
"It was after this that the
Moabites and Ammonites, with some of the Meunim, made war on Jehoshaphat. Word
came to Jehoshaphat that a huge host was moving against him from
Is fear your usual reaction, too? But
observe what the king of
"He resolved to have recourse to
the Eternal, and proclaimed a FAST all over
Jehoshaphat did exactly what God wants
YOU to do today, when faced with any temptation or trouble -- HE TOOK IT TO GOD
IN PRAYER AND FASTING!
And as he continued to ask God for
help, he said (verses 6-12), "O Eternal, the God of our fathers, art not
thou God in heaven, and ruler of all realms on the earth? Such power and might
is thine that no one can resist thee. O our God, didst not thou evict the natives
of this land before thy people
There was no reason for these
neighbours to be enemies. Sometimes your own neighbours become your enemies,
too, don't they?
But notice what the king said to God:
"Look how they reward us, coming to eject us from thy very own country
which thou hast given us to be ours. O our God, WILT THOU NOT DEAL WITH THEM?
WE ARE HELPLESS AGAINST THIS MIGHTY HOST that is attacking us; we know not what
to do, but we look to thee."
Now I want you to notice! --
Jehoshaphat cried out for God to come to their aid. Here is God's answer
(verses 14-17):
"... Jehaziel ... was inspired by
the spirit of the Eternal in the midst of the gathering to cry, 'Listen, all ye
men of Judah, ye citizens of Jerusalem, and you, O king Jehoshaphat, the
Eternal's message to you is this: FEAR NOT, falter not before this vast army,
IT IS FOR GOD, NOT FOR YOU, TO FIGHT THEM. March down against them tomorrow, they
are coming up by the ascent of Haziz, and you will come upon them at the end of
the ravine in front of the
And notice that Jehoshaphat OBEYED
after God instructed him. Verses 20-24 declare, "Next morning they rose
and moved into the open country round Tekoa. As they advanced, Jehoshaphat
stood and said, 'Listen, men of
"As they began to sing and praise
him, the Eternal set men in ambush against the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the
folk from
They turned against one another! That
is how God answered Jehoshaphat. "... And then, after destroying the
natives of
Jehoshaphat did not merely leave this
trouble with God and then do nothing about it himself. First, he prayed, and
asked for wisdom, guidance, and help. Then he did what God said. He had to do
his part -- but the BATTLE WAS GOD'S, and Jehoshaphat did not try to fight
God's battle. He merely did HIS OWN PART. But he BELIEVED God, and RELIED on
God.
The point I want you to remember is
that your battles are not really yours, but God's. If you look to Him, He makes
them His battles, and He fights them for you. How futile, for you to try to
fight God's battles for Him.
God says: "Many are the
afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all"
(Psalm 34:19).
In the New Testament we read, "By
GRACE are ye saved through FAITH." Yes, but the FAITH that saves us is a
LIVING FAITH that is practical -- it works -- it really relies on God! So put
it to practice!
God does not promise us an easy time
during this life in this world. But He does promise to fight our battles for us
-- to deliver us from every trouble and affliction. Will you let Him do it, and
learn how happy your life may become?
God help you to understand!