Hasn’t everybody heard of the infamous 19th-century feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys? It all started with a fight over a razorback hog and turned into a vendetta that continued unabated for several decades. Members of both clans committed murders, and their fighting brought heartache to every family in the valley of the Tug Fork River, along the border of Kentucky and West Virginia.
The men who started this bitter and destructive violence, William Hatfield and Randolph McCoy, were responsible for scores of deaths, but they were never brought to justice in a court of law. Although they both lived long lives, they had to watch the suffering and death of their loved ones.
The world tells us, ‘Don’t get mad; get even!” But, Paul said, “Do not avenge yourselves,…for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).
I’ve learned that if I don’t seek revenge, God fights my battles for me. Have you seen that work in your life, as well?
Tags: battles, hatred, vengeance
We often think of prayer as preparation for the battle, but Christ has showed us that it is the battle itself! Prayer was the heart of His work.
Where was it that Jesus’s sweat was like drops of blood? Not in Pilate’s hall, not on his way to Golgotha. It was in the Garden of Gethsemane. There He “offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death” (Hebrews 5:7).
If we had witnessed His struggle that night, we might have misinterpreted the situation and said, “If He is so broken up when all He is doing is praying, what will He do when He faces a real crisis? Why can’t He approach this ordeal with the calm confidence of His three sleeping buddies?” Yet when the test came, Jesus walked to the cross with courage, and His three disciples fell apart and ran away.
How’s your prayer life?
Tags: battles, courage, prayer
‘A Mighty Fortress’ verse 2:
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing,
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth His name, From age to age the same, and He must win the battle.
The message is obvious. On our own we cannot overcome our “ancient foe”. But with Jesus on our side, He fights our battles for us. He must win the battles in our lives or it is all lost. Turn to Jesus in all our daily struggles, for He is the Mighty Fortress.
What battles are you trusting Jesus to help you with today?
Tags: battles