Stand up and fight!

Judges 20:23-25 For they had gone up to Bethel and wept in the presence of the Lord until evening. They had asked the Lord , “Should we fight against our relatives from Benjamin again?” And the Lord had said, “Go out and fight against them.” So the next day they went out again to fight against the men of Benjamin, but the men of Benjamin killed another 18,000 Israelites, all of whom were experienced with the sword. (NLT)

What would you do if this happened to you? The Israelites, asked God before going into battle and God agreed that they should fight, but two times (not once), they still lost. With human minds, that is when we start wondering whether it was God speaking to us in the first place because we see situations merely from a human point of view, not from God’s (Matthiew 16:23)

If you read the full passage, you will realise three interesting points:

1. The defeats brought the Israelites closer to God. They went to Bethel to fellowship and to weep in the presence of the Lord to seek God’s help.
2. The defeats brought more trust between the Israelites and God. Only faith can get you back in the battle for the 3rd time with confidence to win after you failed two times. Also, it requires less faith to fight and win with one strike; but it requires faith, trust, courage, surrender and discipline to go back into the battle after being defeated twice!
   It doesn’t mean God can’t give you success on your first attempt, of course, He can, but when you don’t win, Jesus is still by your side.
3. When you are defeated, you need an encouraging community. But the Israelites encouraged each other and took their positions again at the same place they had fought the previous day (Judges 20:22). We all need brothers and sisters who can pray with us and encourage us as we walk in this life because we are not built to walk alone.
   To stand up in defeat and take a position to fight again requires us being vulnerable with our community and then allowing our friends&family to encourage us in our many life struggles.

If today you feel defeated in one or more areas of your life, don’t look at the defeat as the end of you, but rather as a reason to stand up again.
Stand up, plan your fight with confidence, because Jesus is by your side; therefore, you are victorious!