Fight the Good Fight!

In life we must choose our battles wisely.

This is something that I have started to learn only in the last few years.

In fact, only since I became a mother and my priorities took a natural shift to encompass the love of my own firstborn son.

Before motherhood, not only did I fail to choose my battles wisely, it appeared to those in my  social circle that I actively sought conflict in my life.  Looking back I guess I saw myself as a bit of a "crusader", always trying to defend the oppressed, and I think that many of my "crusades" were undertaken in an attempt to make myself right with God.

For this was always something that I had desperately and yet unknowingly needed; to be right with God.  

At this time in my life I have come to an interesting crossroads where I must again make choices about how and whether to fight certain battles.  Sometimes, even when we have been greatly wronged, we have to consider whether it is going to be a productive use of our time and mental energy to tackle this one head on.  Perhaps in some circumstances we need to just turn the other cheek, or perhaps turn the battle over to someone who is more qualified to fight for us.  

Over the past few months I have slowly learned that if I surrender all things to God that he really does work out everything for good.  Many who know me well will remember me as a very angry person, always exacting revenge and stopping at nothing to achieve my goals.  

One very useful lesson I learned is that revenge does not make you happy.  Not ever!  

If you have been treated unjustly then trust in the Lord as he is your vindicator, if you need someone else to fight your battles then turn them over to him, as it says in 1John 2:1 "we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous".  Let God be your lawyer, and if you have a battle ahead of you that you really aren't qualified to fight then hand it over to the lawyers, that's what they are there for.

Be careful that your battle doesn't start a war and remember also God's words in Romans 12:19 "vengeance is mine.I will repay".  Do not be tempted to wreak havoc on your enemies but do as the Lord instructs "if your enemy is hungry, feed him, if your enemy is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head". Romans 12:20

Whether you believe in the Word of God or not, this metaphoric wrong footing of your enemies, so to speak, has to be good advice.  Do not be tempted to fight fire with fire for in such cases everything will be destroyed.  Instead be the one to put out the fire, quench the flames with the purest of all substances, water.

So, why am I writing about battles, fighting, wars, enemies at a time when I claim to be so happy?

I am happy. I am happy because I have peace. Yes I have battles, I have troubles. I ask for wisdom daily on how to approach these battles.  Should I risk starting a war just to get what is rightly mine?  This is something I must continue to pray about.  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight". Proverbs 3:5-6  

Yesterday a friend of mine posted something highly political on my Facebook wall.  I dislike engaging in such open public discussion on my page and was tempted to remove it.  However, this in itself would be a public statement to everyone that would have already seen it on my wall.  

So, after praying about it I made the decision to respond to his post "I hate Israel...... do you?"  A very provocative statement which was accompanied by the following equally provocative photo.....

Amazingly the Israeli/Palestinian situation had been in my prayers consistently for a few days as God had put it in my heart through many channels.  I have a very dear friend who is staying only 50 miles from the trouble zone and even as I write this I pray constantly for her safety and for God to give her wisdom about her calling to this part of the world.

In response to the question "I hate Israel... do you?" I responded as follows:

"Actually no I dont hate Israel. I dont hate anyone. 

God has called all Christians to love Israel and to protect them. 

However he has also called us to live in peace and to fight the good fight. 

The people of Israel are doing neither of those things. 

Sometimes we need protection from ourselves and I think in this case, by supporting the military action of Israel, America are failing to protect Israel from themselves."

His response was to speak of the killings of innocents and to personalise the atrocities by referring to my son:

Lydia being human answer me honestly..is it good ..what's happening in Palastine?
What's wrong with them? Are they blind? 
They don't know there are innocent kids? Just imagine if ur son is there?

His response seemed to imply that he had misunderstood my initial comment so I replied as follows:

Of course its not good. Read my comment. I believe both Israel and America are seriously misguided in their approach here. God tells us to love our enemies. The killing of innocents makes me weep it doesnt make me hate.

He went on with a few more pointed remarks about the atrocities towards children so rather than be drawn further I replied 

I have spoken enough on this matter. I never support any form of cruelty. Anyone who believes that war and killing will bring them closer to God needs our prayers not our hatred. God says "vengeance is mine", so it is for God, not us, to bring retribution for these atrocities.

His next point I think was intended to question the merit of our great God's wisdom.  He said:

GOD SAYs. i will give food to all living things..so we should not work hard for earning for food?

To which I replied:

This means that if we cannot provide food for ourselves we should not worry because God will provide. However God will only do this for those who believe and trust in him.

The conversation then finished with his final question which was to ask me if I was from Israel.  By this I assume he was really asking if I was Jewish as he is perfectly aware that I'm originally from the UK.

I am not sure if my words made any impact on him but my hope is that by responding to his post I did more good than harm and that I may have at least been able to share a little of what God had put in my heart about the mutual plights of Palestine and Israel.

Since finding my faith and immersing myself in God's word, the troubles of this part of the world have raised many questions for me.  The answers for which I believe only lie with God and can be, in part, understood through reading His Word. 

For those of you reading this who are unfamiliar with what we call "The Word of God", in other words, the bible, then I will just give you a little background information on the area of the world referred to as Israel.

It is believed by Jews and many Christians that the land in question was handed down to the Israelites (the children of Israel) by divine promise.

Many times throughout the Old Testament there is reference to the "land that I promised to your forefathers".

So the question is, who has the rights to this land?

In my research on this subject, which has been quite extensive because I don't pretend to be an expert in scripture by any means, I discovered an interesting article on CBN.com which brings our attention to some interesting historical points and some often overlooked verses from the bible which for me go some way to explaining why we have this disastrous situation between the Palestinians and the Israelis today:

The answer is not as simple as you might think. It is often said or implied, for example, that the Palestinians have no claim to the land since they have only been there since the seventh century AD. This assumes, however, that they entered Palestine during the Arab conquests (c. 636/7), and ignores the known facts of history. When the Arabs swept out of Arabia and conquered the Middle East, Palestine was not vacant. It was inhabited by an ethnic "meld" made up mainly of the descendants of the peoples whom the Hebrews had only partially displaced, and a few Jews. The terms "Palestine" and "Palestinian" actually derive from the word "Philistine," the most powerful non-Jewish ethnic group in the land in the Old Testament era (Philistines were already there in Abraham's day; see e.g. Gen. 20:1-17; 21:22-34). It was only after many of them had Islamized, and some had intermarried with Arabs, that they adopted the Arabic language and came to be called Arabs (that is why "Arab" is more a linguistic than an ethnic designation). Intermarriage had also taken place during the Greek, Roman and Byzantine occupations. So the Palestinians are a mixed race. And if length of settlement is the criterion, then certainly they have a case. 

What do the Scriptures say, however? It is interesting that those who insist it belongs to the Jews fix on God's promises to Abraham in Genesis, and on the prophecies about Israel in the latter days. Intentionally or not, they skip over what Judges 1 to 3 have to say on the subject. In all my years, I have never heard one sermon linking this passage to the subject, and have often wondered why. To set the stage, look at Joshua 13:1-5 where God tells Joshua, shortly before his death, which areas are yet to be possessed, from the "region of the Philistines" in the south to "Lebo Hamath" in the north. Judges opens, however, with the statement that Israel had failed to drive these people out. Because of this, the Angel of the Lord tells them, "I will no longer drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides. ... I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord" (2:3, 22; 3:4). This explains why the Philistines especially were a thorn in the side of the Children of Israel then, and why the Palestinians are in exactly the same position today. 

The Word of God clearly teaches then that although God had promised the land to the seed of Abraham, and although it will one day be the seat of the coming Messianic Kingdom, the Palestinians will remain in the land as long as it suits His purposes. Clearly, Israel has failed miserably in keeping the way of the Lord, and God continues to use the Palestinians to test them. It is recognized that good Christians differ considerably over important issues concerning prophecy and eschatology, including the role God has reserved for Israel in the future. These questions do not however do not affect the clear teaching of this passage.

http://www.cbn.com

I am not qualified to say more than I have said on this matter but I hope that I have given a true and fair representation from both a historic and a Christian point of view, all of which are supported by prayer and research.  So to that end, let's close in prayer.

Dear Lord, 

God of heaven and earth, only you can know the truth.  For Jesus says "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".  

I pray for your grace and mercy on the people of Israel and Palestine, that you will call them to peace and deliver them from the grip of war that has wreaked havoc over this part of the world for centuries.  

I pray your supernatural protection over the innocent children and citizens who suffer in such conflict throughout the world.  I pray for wisdom to those in authority, in government, in all positions of power and responsibility so that they are able to rule with a spirit of peace and justice rather than of revenge and discrimination.  

I pray for everyone who is going through a time of conflict whether it be in the home or the workplace, in legal dealings or matters of government.  My Lord Jesus, you call us to live in peace, as members of one body and I pray that we will always show respect and love for one another as you command, and that just as we love our neighbour we will also love our enemies.

I pray that we will trust you in all things and that we will not seek revenge but surrender all our battles to you and that we will remember your words in 1 Samuel 24:15 "May the Lord Judge between you and me, for my hand will not strike you, my mouth will not curse you and my thoughts will not think evil of you.  God is my vindicator".

Let us live by the grace of God and also through our words and our deeds for though we are made righteous by the precious blood of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ we are also called to show our faith through our works.  

Let us be a light to the world, a town on a hill that cannot be hidden.  I pray that my light will shine before others to reveal my good deeds in order to honour and glorify you my Father in heaven. I pray that you will send your Holy Spirit on me to give me a heart of loving kindness, gentle forbearance, faithfulness and goodness and the peace which reigns in my heart today will be with me always.  

In Jesus' name I pray,

Amen.