Articles
The Battle Belongs to God
Do you feel God is on your side when you are battling a challenge?
In the New testament, Jesus Christ, the son of God, came to Earth to teach the Lord’s commands and save mankind from sin. In Matthew 22:15-22, Jesus shows mankind that the Lord does not choose sides. The Pharisees and the Herodians looked for a way to kill Jesus by trapping Him in His words. They questioned, “What is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” Jesus knew of their evil intent and asked them to show Him a denarius[i] saying, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” The group replied to Jesus saying, “Caesar’s.” Matthew 22:21 then records Jesus telling them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” The Pharisees were essentially asking Jesus, “Who is right? Us, or the Romans?” However, Jesus righteously brought the conversation back to God because He had His mind set on things above instead of on petty Earthly matters.
In the Old Testament, before the Israelites were about to fight the battle of Jericho, Joshua had a similar question for the stranger he just met. Joshua 5:13-14 says, “When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, ‘Are you for us, or for our adversaries?’ And he said, ‘No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.’” When Joshua realizes who he is speaking to, he bows down in reverence and asks what the Lord commands of him. Rather than having Joshua strategize and physically prepare for the battle with Jericho, the Lord’s commander says, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.”
The command Joshua received was one of obedience and reverence. Romans 8:28 reads, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God wants everything good for His children. However, His definition of good can be vastly different from man’s because He has a higher understanding. Hebrews 13:5-6 says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Rather than asking, “Is the Lord on my side?” the better question is: “Am I on the Lord’s side?”
[i] A denarius is the standard Roman coin used during the time of Jesus
