As the children of Israel stood at the precipice of freedom, Pharaoh and his blood thirsting team was closing in with the intent to slaughter them. With freedom in front of them and the enemy closing in behind them Moses cried out to the people in Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight your battles and you have only to be silent.”
When Moses said, ‘God will fight our battle’, what he is actually saying is that we do not have to anguish, be anxious, or be discouraged when bad things happen in our lives. Let’s be honest, when it seems like a situation or battle is hopeless or the matter at hand is too big or overwhelming, we may be tempted to doubt God. However, we must remember that no problem, battle or situation is ever beyond the scope of God’s sovereign power, wisdom and care for His children. Scripture affirms that God has promised to take care of us (Philippians 4:19), make good plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), and love us beyond measure (Romans 8:37–39).
Contemporary praise and worship songwriters Bryan Fowler and Shane Barnard penned these words to this very popular song entitled ‘You’ve Already Won’:
“I’m fighting a battle
That you’ve already won
No matter what comes my way I will overcome
I don’t know what You’re doing But I know what You’ve done
I’m fighting a battle that You’ve already won”
My brothers and sisters, God is in control, but that does not mean we won’t experience opposition —in fact, the Bible states the opposite (2 Timothy 3:12 and James 1:2-4). “Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3–4). In order for a believer to live a life of endurance, character, and hope, we must put on our armor (Ephesians 6:10–17) and trust the Rewarder, Sustainer, and Deliverer. We “put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). Our confidence is in almighty God, who will fight our battles and bring us safely home (Jude 1:24–25). “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7).
At the end of the day, God wants us to genuinely live by faith (Romans 1:17) because faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Most people cite Exodus 14:14, but for some reason they gloss right over what God said to Moses in verse 15; “The LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.” In other words, God was saying don’t just stand there, move forward by faith because I’ve already won this battle (vv 16-30).
4GIVEN 