Wrestling.

God’s weapons for victory

Wednesday 3rd July 2024

‘I use God’s mighty weapons, not those made by men.’ 2 Corinthians 10:4 TLB

Before doing battle with Syria, Joab told his brother, ‘If [they] are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you’ (1 Chronicles 19:12 NKJV). If one was overwhelmed, the other could step in and help.

Spiritual warfare is different, however. We’re not wrestling with ‘flesh and blood, but against principalities…powers…rulers of the darkness…[and] spiritual hosts of wickedness’ (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV). And wrestling is a one-on-one struggle that means getting up close and personal, going toe-to-toe with your opponent. When David faced Goliath, the giant was so sure of himself that he announced to all Israel, ‘If he kills me…we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves’ (1 Samuel 17:9 NLT)! Think about the long-term implications of this. If Goliath prevailed, God’s people would spend their lives serving the enemy. The stakes were incredibly high for Israel – and they are for you too. Satan is out to defeat you, and if you wrestle according to the rules of the flesh, you will lose.

Just like professional wrestlers have rules they abide by, there are fail-safe spiritual rules designed to work for you. Paul says, ‘We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds’ (2 Corinthians 10:4 NLT). The only hope you have of defeating Satan lies in prayer, Christian fellowship, God’s word, the name of Jesus and the blood of Jesus. These five things top the list of powerful weapons given you to defeat the enemy. So use them today

The Word wrestling stood out because it was mentioned in today's Devotional by Rick Warren 

Make Healing Choices 

The Bible teaches that our biggest struggle in life is with God because we want to be in control. We want to be God. This was the problem Jacob had; he insisted he be able to control his life to such an extent that he wanted to change the order of his birth! One night he even tried to go one-on-one with God. Some people want to debate who Jacob actually wrestled but the Bible tells us in Hosea: "Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God." (Hosea 12:3 NLT) Think of your problem right now. Regardless of what that problem is, I suspect it all boils down to these two issues. Will you trust God and obey? Will you not trust God and, instead, disobey? No matter what your problem is - financial, physical, relational, social, and vocational -- your biggest problem is not the problem you think. The real problem is not obeying and trusting God. And that makes the problem bigger. Have you ever been in a no-win situation? Perhaps you're in a no-win situation right now. Who do you think is behind that? God is! God backs you into a corner. Why? Because God often allows crisis in our lives in order to get our attention. All of a sudden we're laid flat on our backs and we're forced to look up.

I think God is trying to get my attention about my overeating. Because that is what I'm wrestling with just now!!!