The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, Classic Version, 2015Sample

How to Win the Battles of Life

The Christian life is a battle. I have been following Jesus for four decades. As I look back at these years they have been years of great blessing – more than I could have asked or even imagined. At the same time there have been many challenges and obstacles. There have been very few periods when I have not been facing some kind of battle.

The nature of these battles has varied enormously. There have been internal battles – times of intense temptation, doubt, fear and anxiety. There have been times of deep sadness, great loss and bereavement. There have been battles over health, sleep, finances, work and relationships. There have been periods of great opposition and criticism.

Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the Papal household, speaks of our battle being against a ‘triple alliance … the world, the flesh and the devil’.

First, our battle is against the world – ‘the enemy around us’. Second, it’s against the flesh – ‘the enemy within us’. Third, it’s against the devil – ‘the enemy above us’ – which the apostle Paul describes as ‘the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’ (Ephesians 6:12).

Each of the passages for today has something to say about how to win the battles of life. 

Psalm 33:12-22

1. Do not trust in your own strength: trust in God

The key to winning your battles, according to David, is not to rely on your own strength, but to put your trust in God. This goes against the grain, but at the end of the day human strength and power is not enough: ‘No king succeeds with a big army alone, no warrior wins by brute strength. Horsepower is not the answer; no one gets by on muscle alone’ (vv.16–17, MSG).

Rather, God gives victory to those who trust in him: ‘Watch this: God’s eye is on those who respect him, the ones who are looking for his love. He’s ready to come to their rescue in bad times; in lean times he keeps body and soul together. We’re depending on God; he’s everything we need. What’s more, our hearts brim with joy since we’ve taken for our own his holy name’ (vv.18–21, MSG).

Merciful Lord, grant your people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Prayer from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.)

Luke 1:26-38

2. Do not fight each other: unite around the King

Raniero Cantalamessa points out that, ‘In the tales of medieval battles, there always comes a moment when the orderly ranks of archers and cavalry and all the rest are broken and the fighting concentrates around the king. That is where the final outcome of the battle will be decided. For us too, the battle today is taking place around the King … it is the person of Jesus Christ himself that is the real point at issue.’

The theological battles of the twenty-first century are not those of the eleventh century, which divided Catholic and Orthodox churches. Nor are the battles those of the sixteenth century reformation. The battle today is the same as the battle of the first century: is Jesus a universal Saviour?

Luke sets out right at the start of the Gospel a number of claims about Jesus (vv.31–35):

• Saviour
  The angel says to Mary, ‘You are to call him Jesus’ (v.31). The name ‘Jesus’ means ‘saviour’.
• Messiah
  He is the long-awaited Messiah in the line of David. The angel says, ‘The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end’ (vv.32–33).
• Son of God
  The angel goes on, ‘He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High’ (v.32). Jesus’ birth was unique, as is explained by the angel in these verses. Mary was a virgin, and so a ‘normal’ conception was clearly impossible (v.34). Instead she was told ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you’ (v.35a). The angel then immediately explains why this is so significant; ‘the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God’ (v.35b). We see here how Jesus is both fully human (born in the normal way), and yet also fully God (conceived by the Holy Spirit).

Christians from all churches – Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Pentecostal – believe in Jesus as our Saviour, the Messiah and the Son of God. To be a Christian is to be a follower of Christ. All followers of Jesus are children of God (John 1:12). This makes us brothers and sisters. Furthermore, if we belong to Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in each of us (Romans 8:9).

This is what unites us as Christians. Therefore, the battle should never be with our brothers and sisters in Christ. In-fighting distracts and destroys. We need to focus on the real battle, which is around the King.

Mary sets a wonderful example of the right attitude. For Mary, the Lord is with her (Luke 1:28), within her (v.35), and over her (v.38). While, of course, Mary is unique as the mother of Jesus, all believers can know this same connection with the Lord.

The way we fight the triple alliance of the enemy is with the triple alliance of the Lord.

First, just as the angel tells Mary that ‘the Lord is with you’ (v.28), so Jesus’ last words to his disciples were, ‘I am with you always’ (Matthew 28:20). Whatever circumstances we face, we need not fear. The King is with us.

Second, the Holy Spirit is within us. As the Holy Spirit came upon Mary (Luke 1:35), to bring about a physical birth, so the Holy Spirit comes upon us, to bring about a spiritual birth. We are ‘children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God’ (John 1:13).

Third, the King is over us. We are called to be the Lord’s servants. Mary’s response is one of strong, courageous, fearless and dignified trust. She is the model of faith. In the greatest and most decisive act of faith in history she offered herself to God as a clean page on which he could write what he wanted. I love the translation in the Living Bible: ‘I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants’ (Luke 1:38).

Lord, help us to focus on the real battle and unite around the King: our Saviour, Messiah and Son of God. I want to say, like Mary, ‘I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants’.

Numbers 1:1-2:9

3. Do not be unprepared: listen to God

The battles of life need not intimidate you. All the way through history God’s people have faced obstacles and challenges. The book of Numbers is about how God’s people prepare for battle.

In Exodus we see Israel as a liberated people. In Leviticus we see Israel as a holy people. In Numbers we see Israel as a fighting force. In the chapters for today we see a military emphasis that sets the tone for the whole book.

When we read this through the lens of Jesus, we see that the Christian life is a spiritual battle. We are liberated by the cross. We have been made holy but we have a battle on our hands. As the people of God in the Old Testament prepared for their battles, so too do we need to be prepared.

In this passage we see three keys:

• Take instructions from God
  ‘The Lord spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Desert of Sinai’ (Numbers 1:1). God can speak to you even in the very dry periods of your life, or in a place that seems completely godless. Of course, it is not enough simply to hear God’s instructions – you need to act on them too. This initial set of instructions ends with the report that ‘the Israelites did all this just as the Lord commanded Moses (v.54).
• Raise up good leadership
  The leaders were appointed from the community (v.16), and represented it (v.4), but ultimately they were chosen by God.

Leadership is key in every level and section of society. Parents are leaders in the home. Teachers are leaders in schools. We need good leadership in the church, marketplace, judiciary, government, media, arts, and so on.

• Mobilise the people
  Everyone had to be listed (‘by name, one by one’ (v.2)). This expression occurs over and over again in the passage. Each individual matters to God, and has an important part to play in his plans. What at first seems to be dry statistics, is in fact a key tool in mobilising and equipping the entire people of God.

Eugene Peterson writes in his introduction to the book of Numbers, ‘We need organisational help. When people live together in community, jobs have to be assigned, leaders appointed, inventories kept. Counting and list-making and rosters are as much a part of being a community of God as prayer and instruction and justice. Accurate arithmetic is an aspect of becoming a people of God.’

Lord, as we face the battles of the twenty-first century, we pray that we may hear your instructions, that you would raise up good leadership, both in the church and in society, and mobilise the people for the battles ahead.

Pippa Adds

Luke 1:26–38

I am fascinated by Mary. What an extraordinary person she must have been. To be told that you are going to have a baby is a pretty awesome experience. But, when you are young, unmarried and a virgin, to be told that you will be carrying ‘the Son of the Most High’ (v.32) would seem impossible and terrifying. To be unmarried and pregnant in that society was a terrible thing. Her total faith and acceptance of God’s will is extraordinary. You would think that she would have worried for her own reputation. It would have jeopardised her marriage to Joseph, hurt her family and her life itself would have been in danger. But she simply said, ‘I am the Lord’s servant ... May your word to me be fulfilled’ (v.38). 

Notes:

Raniero Canatalamessa, Come, Creator Spirit: Meditations on the Veni Creator, (Liturgical Press, 2002) p. 287

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.

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