Battles

We're at War! {Daniel 1-3}

8:00 PM


Those of us who have surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ know we are at war. Like it, or not we face spiritual warfare everyday (Ephesians 6:12) and are being relentlessly attacked by an enemy that makes itself known in three forms:

  • The World
  • The Flesh
  • And the Devil. (Ephesians 2:1-3)

Have you ever wondered what we possess that the enemy wants to steal, kill and destroy? (John 10:10) According to the first chapter of Daniel it's:

  • Our identity/ witness
  • Our places of worship and their articles
  • Our manhood, or womanhood - gender identity
  • Our intellect
  • Our purpose
  • Our diet, the very sustenance of our existence. (Mark 4:4)

And we can see the body of believers still coming under attack today.

How can we defend ourselves against this constant spiritual onslaught? The answer is found in the first few chapters of the Book of Daniel.

1.) We must prepare ourselves for battle by dressing properly! (Ephesians 6:10-18) If you’ve never put these verses to memory, I can highly encourage you to do it, for they are that powerful!


Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.  Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints”

Daniel believed the Word of God and in the God of the Word!

2.) Enlist the help of other godly friends! In Daniel, chapter 2, we see Daniel did not taking his ability to interpret dreams lightly, but enlisted his friends' help in praying for him, Daniel went home and made the matter known to Hananyah, Misha’el, and Azaryah, his companions; so that they could ask the God of heaven for mercy concerning this secret; and thus save Daniel and his companions from dying along with the other sages of Babel. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision at night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven…” Daniel 2:17–19

Daniel wouldn’t simply rely on his abilities, or “giftedness”; he understood the importance of a strong spiritual community and the power of prayer. Daniel knew the problem needed a level of discernment that could only be reached by the counsel of other godly men. (Eccl 4:12)

3.) Trust God! Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego prove to us that God won’t always keep us protected from the “fiery furnaces” we will have to walk through, but He will be there to walk through them with us!  

With all this in mind, how are you doing? Do you “armor-up” each morning as you prepare for your day ahead? Are you facing life’s trials alone, perhaps, too worried what others might think if they knew your struggles? Or do you trust in the community of believers that the Lord has given you to help you win?

Because Daniel and his friends were willing to trust their situation to God and one another, the Lord gave each of them victories that couldn’t be explained apart from Him, and therefore God received the glory in the midst of the most difficult circumstances. 

Proving once more that He can be trusted! And we can be victorious over our enemy if we follow Him and His ways in our battles!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you yearn to experience more of the love of Jesus in your life this fall? Come join our New Testament study with an eclectic group of women from around the world!

Together we'll read through the entire New Testament and grow to love our Lord & Savior even more! Trust in Him, and begin an adventure that will transform your life and maybe others as well!
Begins August 31st! on Women in the Word.

Angie Benjamin

When your heart loses hope- Lionlike faith {Deut. 16:1-20:20}

2:03 AM



"I can't do this. This is just too hard."... Don't we have moments in our lives where we feel like giving up?

Perhaps we're struggling to keep our heads above the water in our finances, we're still struggling with a troubled relationship, or even to find another job. Whether at school, at work, or even at home, we can feel outnumbered and helpless...

But I believe if we're going to be faithful believers in the Kingdom of God, we cannot quit when things get tough. We often want God to be with us through "thick and thin", but I believe like in any relationship, things come "both ways".

 Deut 20:1-4

  When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. 2 When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. 3 He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. 4 For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

 When we feel fainthearted, we need to dig our heels in and exclaim in lionlike faith, "I won't let my heart lose hope! God will help me! I am not going to give up or quit, no matter how hard it gets or how long it takes!" for victory is ours through Christ.

"Our fears today, our worries tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away" (Romans 8:31, Romans 8:37-38)- iWorship Bible


We are called to be lionhearted Lambs

A beautiful thing about God's word is that we get to discover who God is. We get to see the three parts of His personality (God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit) .

As we read Deut. 20:1-4, we're encouraged to  to be as bold as a lion, just like God...the Lion of Judah!, on the other hand we see Jesus who is humble, gentle, meek, and lowly- not harsh, hard, sharp or pressing.

We are called to resist Satan and all his evil works as aggressively and boldly as a lion, but when we have to deal with people, we should try to be very gentle unless the situation calls us to apply a little tough love.

The Holy Spirit is also very gentle and sensitive. When we are harsh on people we can definitely offend the Holy Spirit.

No matter what temperament, we all face times when we are called to be a lion and times we're called to be a lamb. Ask God for the wisdom and direction in every situation on how to react.

What battles are you fighting today? God is fighting for you, you only have to be STILL! (Exodus 14:14) Praise Him for the victory is Yours!, because it will certainly come!

Have a blessed weekend,

Angie