Are you in the middle of a conflict? I heard a statement recently that completely caught my attention.
“If God doesn’t deliver you from a conflict, or if He doesn’t take you around a conflict, it is because He has equipped you to obtain victory in the conflict.”
It caused me to reflect on the many times I asked God to deliver me from a conflict.
Perhaps you can relate. When we encounter hard situations, we often cry out to God to deliver us. I have done it many times. It’s so much easier to be delivered from a hard situation than walk through it.
As I was meditating on this truth, I remembered a scripture in the Old Testament. When the Israelites exited Egypt, they encountered numerous challenges. But rather than taking them through the situation, God chose to take them around it.
Why did He do that? Scripture gives us the answer.
Exodus 13:17 says; “When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”
God took them around because they were not yet ready for battle. He knew if they faced the battle before they were ready, it would cause them to turn from God. It would even cause them to want to return to their old way of living.
That leaves us with a question. How many conflicts has God taken us around because we were not prepared for battle? This insight, for me, shows once again, that He is a good, good Father.
It’s easy for us to read about the children of Israel and think, “why didn’t they trust God? Why didn’t they fight for what was theirs?” However, it is not so easy when we find ourselves in the midst of the conflict, is it?
The good news is, we win.
We may not be facing an army who is ready to fight and steal what belongs to us or perhaps even kill us. But we face an enemy who will do whatever he can to keep us from the promises of God and from the inheritance that is rightfully ours through the blood of Jesus.
However, I want to encourage you today. The good news is, we win.
If you find yourself in the midst of a conflict, one in which God has not delivered you, you are there for one reason. God has already equipped you to have victory in the conflict! That, my friend, is great news!
In my past, I walked through ten years of challenging times. God didn’t deliver me from that time, but He walked through it with me. He never left me.
God didn’t deliver Daniel from the lion’s den. He equipped him to come out victorious!
God didn’t deliver Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace. He equipped them to come out with victory!
God may not deliver you from your situation. However, that does not mean you will not have ultimate victory. It only means you are equipped to walk it out. To come out on the other side with victory.
I love what Isaiah 43:1-2 says in the New Living Translation.
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”
Oh, what a mighty God we serve. He never leaves us. He always causes us to triumph! He always gives us victory.
Psalm 66:12 says, “We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance.” NLT
THIS is the God we serve! He brings us through the conflict into a place of abundance.
Are you in a conflict today? Have you asked God to deliver you from it? Do you find you are still in the conflict? Then rest in the knowledge that your victory is assured! God has already equipped you to have victory, in the conflict! You win! We win because Jesus already paid for our victory. We win because God has equipped us to win!
If you are in the middle of a conflict, I want to pray over you today.
“Thank you, God! Thank you for walking with us in every conflict. Thank you for taking us through every difficult place–every place of conflict. Thank you, God, that you bring us out to a place of abundance! We are so very thankful that you are with us in the conflict to walk us through to victory. We believe we have victory now, in Jesus’ name.”
Appoint My Days
I ask today, that You Lord, would flood me with an unending, undying love for others, like my love for You, so that my heart will be reinforced with Your strength, and held blameless before You. Let me see others the way You see them. Give me a heart of flesh, pliable and shaped by You.
1 Thess 3:11-13
