As the couple sat before me to iron out their marital issues, I told them, “Be careful of the quarrels going on between you both. It is a strategy of the devil to weaken you before your major battle in life.” Not too long after, a major battle showed up in their family. The perspective I gave them earlier helped them to win their major battle. They learnt to choose their battles.
Friend, you must learn to choose your battles. Life’s battles are not supposed to be a stumbing block to our progress. They are supposed to be stepping stone (Philippians 1:19-20). Who would have thought that David’s battle against Goliath was meant to announce him to his generation (1 Samuel 17:54-55)? Who would have thought that the same Goliath that was mesmerising others would be the platform for the rising of David?
There are some things God will not deliver you from. He would rather empower you to go through them (Isaiah 43:2). If Joseph had been delivered from going to the prison, he would have been prevented from getting to the palace (Genesis 41:9-14). If Daniel had not gone to the lion’s den, he would not have brought a dimension of God to his generation (Daniel 6:16-28). God uses life’s battles to elevate his children.
What battles are you currently facing today? What fire or water are you passing through at the moment (Isaiah 43:2)? What valley of the shadow of death are you walking through right now (Psalms 23:4)? Rest assured that they are not meant to destroy you. Rather, they are meant to make you into what God has ordained for you.
Your attitude towards life’s battles would determine how long you would stay in such battles and the outcome of the battles. This is why we are told to count it all joy. You have got to do joy irrespective of the situation (James 1:2-4). It is with joy that we draw strength and other virtues needed for our victory (Nehemiah 8:10, Isaiah 12:3). The right attitude would cause you to see God’s faithfulness in the midst of life’s battles (1 Corinthians 10:13).
A lot of times, the devil will cause you to engage in the wrong battles so as to weaken you before the right battles. For David, it was the minor battle against Eliab, his elder brother (1 Samuel 17:28-30). For Joseph, it was the temptation to be offended at his brothers or Mrs Potiphar (Genesis 50:19-21). For Jesus, it was the temptation to rain fire on his persecutors (Luke 23:34). If you don’t know how to ignore minor battles, you would lose the major battles. Choose your battles.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria