Fight BackSample

Instead of moving from deliverance to deliverance, God intended for us to move from deliverance to dominion. Let’s take Israel for example. God didn’t plan for them to keep going back to Egypt for more deliverance after things got hard in the wilderness. Instead, led by the cloud each day and by fire at night, God expected them to move forward to become fearless soldiers. God was not just taking slaves out of the land of bondage, but He was leading them to conquer the land of promise. Israel was tempted to go back to Egypt many times. They talked about it, complained about it, and even threatened God and Moses about it. At times, life in bondage seemed better than a life of freedom in the desert. They failed to understand that even though freedom is free, learning to walk in victory takes time, effort, adjusting, and training.

God’s plan of getting Israel out of Egypt was not the final goal. It was only a means to the goal. The goal was for them to take possession of the Promised Land; God didn’t just give it to them.  In Egypt, they received deliverance by doing very little, but in the Promised Land, they would have to fight to take possession of it and keep what was promised. In fact, the children of Israel only possessed what they fought for, not what they wished and hoped for.  What was true for them is also true of us today. God delivers us from the cruel Pharaoh, but He expects us to conquer the wicked Philistines.  The Promised Land was different from Egypt.  The Israelites were delivered from Egypt, but the Promised Land required taking dominion. That’s what Israel did and that’s what we must learn to do as well.

Battles are not the same as bondage. To engage in battle is the designated privilege of free people. Bondage is bad; battle is good. Bondage makes you a slave; battle makes you a soldier. We have to renew our mind that battles are not bad. They are the keys to breakthrough. It’s time to move on from freedom to fighting. God set us free from sin but not from warfare. 

When you get saved and delivered, battles don’t stop. In fact, in some ways, they only begin. In deliverance, God works for you, but in dominion, He works through you. God does not deliver you from battles, but He trains you for them. Because of the cross, we don’t fight for victory; we fight from victory to victory. Like it or not, we must fight.