You will win your war with your hands lifted toward Heaven.
In Exodus 17 we find the Israelites in battle against the Amalekites. Moses, the appointed leader of Israel, stood at the top of the hill during the battle with his hands lifted toward the Lord. As long as his hands were raised, his people were winning. As soon as he lowered his hands, they began to lose. As times passed, his arms were getting tired- the battle was long, and it was hard to stand on his own, so his two closest friends came along side him and helped him keep his hands up toward heaven until the Amalekites were completely defeated. (free advice: read the Bible, it’s cool).
This story is a direct parallel and symbol of our own lives. The israelites are God’s chosen people- aka anyone covered by the blood of Jesus who has now become a child of God. The Amalekites are the enemy; the one who wants to take out God’s children. The one we’re in war against. We see Moses with his hands raised, which is exactly what it looks like to worship and surrender control. We see him call out to God and worship him, and as he does, his people are winning, but as he gets tired, worn thin, impatient, or even starts to fall in disbelief, he had two God fearing people come along side him to help him reach toward Heaven for his victory.
Yes, there is a spiritual world that we can’t see. And yes, spiritual warfare is very real. The Bible tells us that our war isn’t against flesh and blood but against the power of darkness in the world (Ephesians 6:12).
There is a constant war for your soul. The Lord loves you so much that he fights on your behalf to save you from Hell, but meanwhile the devil and the other demons that rule the air are fighting to distract you from the Lord Jesus. The devil is so jealous that he can’t stand to think of you having a full and abundant life here on earth or in heaven. He just comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). So he fights against the unsaved to keep them from being saved. He tries to make them either hate God or be so prideful that they don’t think they need his salvation.
And even if you have accepted Jesus in your life and are saved, the devil is still going to fight against you. His goal is now to distract you from helping others find salvation. He doesn’t want you to have faith, or be a good example, or to be walking in the Lord’s will for your life. He’ll fight against you to try to make you give up and lose sight of God and walk away from him. (If you are being spiritually attacked, take that as a compliment. That means you’re doing something right for the Kingdom of Heaven because the devil clearly finds you as a threat from building his kingdom).
Sometimes we are waiting so long to see the victory of our battles. Sometimes we want to give up hope. But let me reassure you- no matter how bad your situation or trial is, God is still good. perfectly good. Your situation does not dictate the character of our savior- only the Word does. And the word tells us that God is good, and he is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). So no matter how scattered and crazy and bad life may get, God stays constant, and good. He has a plan.
So what do we do during trials? Especially during the waiting period of our trials where we have yet to receive breakthrough? We praise. We worship. We remind ourselves who is in control. We do not tell God how big out problem is, instead we tell our situation how big our God is. We surrender control to the one who holds our victory. We thank him for his unfailing goodness and love, and we trust he knows what he’s doing and that he will make a way for us.
Victory is where Jesus is, Jesus holds all authority. He received full authority and victory when He defeated death by raising himself from the dead, so He already defeated the devil. He already won your battle, and when you’re God’s child, you receive his full inheritance since you are coheirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). This means victory is our inheritance.
God inhabits (dwells in, lives in, resides in) the praises of his people (Psalm 22:3). So if Jesus- who is also God- holds our victory, we win by bringing him in to our situation. If he lives in our praises, then praising him through the situation will result in breakthrough.
Sometimes the waiting period is for us to strengthen our faith. It is for us to trust in God even when it doesn’t make sense, even when we don’t physically see it. It’s for us to trust his word and his character. It creates perseverance. It multiplies our patience. It causes us to fully rely on him. It teaches us to call on Jesus and realize we can’t win on our own.
The devil only has the victory that we give to him. We give him victory when we give up and stop relying on God or stop believing his word. Don’t let him win by giving up. Don’t allow disbelief to cause you to lose. Don’t allow the devil’s lies to rule your mind. Renew your mind; take every thought captive and give it to God.
Victory is in his name. So declare it over your situation.
