“A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” – Psalm 91:7-11 ESV

I’ve been thinking on how interesting it is that God –the Almighty, who fights our battles for us, still wants us to be willing to be trained, and to go into the battle to fight with Him –to do our part in the battle.

How He trains us and teaches us so that we are trained to fight the battles with Him.

That we may do our part, and He will do His in that battle.

But it seems that the training is more about training to depend on Him, to trust in where He leads –training to go into what seem like “unlikely-to-win situations” and to trust that in His strength, this is how we have the victory. No matter how unlikely it may seem.

“Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle…” – Psalm 144:1

“Oh grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man! With God we shall do valiantly; it is He who will tread down our foes.” – Psalm 108:12-13

“From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were swift as gazelles upon the mountains…” – 1 Chronicles 12:8

So I’ve asked the Lord for more understanding this morning.

“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’” – Deuteronomy 20:1-4

He is with us. We do our part, He does His.

We are willing, He can do the miraculous.

We have the wings, He gives us the wind.

We go, He moves.

We fight, He gives us the victory in the battle.

There is something to the willingness.

There is something to our willingness, then He takes over and does what only He can do–through us.

I love that. How He trains us, teaches us, prepares us… we’re willing, we go, we fight, but then ultimately He does His part in the battle that only He can do.

To Gideon, in the middle of his fear and in his weakness…

“And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” – Judges 6:12

What does “valor” mean?

“great courage in the face of danger, especially in battle.”

Our hope is in His strength. He gives us His strength to do our part, then He takes it from there.

Thank you, Lord. ☀️

–Heather ?