August 05,2023
WARNING! ⚠️ Don’t Fight Losing Battles – 3 Checkpoints
By Pastor Kim D’souza
By Pastor Kim D’souza
As a child of God, life will throw two battles at you. One is where you will have an assured victory because God backs you. And though it may sometimes look hard, God will win it and bring great spoils for you that an entire lifetime will not be sufficient to enjoy that spoil.
And the second one is where the battle was never given to you to win. In fact, it was never meant to be fought by you. You invited it on yourself, and God backs off. This is where you will be plundered and bruised badly.
The devil’s agenda is to drag you into battles that are not meant to be fought by you.
The first-ever battle that was fought in the Bible is mentioned in the book of Genesis, where four kings fought against five. And the Bible says in Genesis 14:11-12, “Then they (the four kings) took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.”
Did you see that? They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, who went from being a rich free man to now being bruised and dragged like a slave.
So how did this happen? Here are 3 checkpoints to know whether you are fighting losing battles:
1) When you venture into areas where the Word of God is not going
Don’t enter battles where the Word of God says a definite ‘NO’. For instance, when you know that the Word of God clearly says that light cannot match with darkness, yet you are drawn to relationships with unbelievers, that’s a losing battle!
Lot made the same mistake- he chose to live in a land whose people hated God and didn’t walk in His ways and ended up in trouble.
Every time you move away from the Word of God, you get into losing battles. Lot was blessed because of his proximity to Abraham, a man who was carrying God’s Word. And the moment he decided to distance himself (Gen 13:11), he ended up in a battle he was never meant to fight.
2) When you settle for ‘little’ compromises
The Bible says, “Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.” (Genesis 13:12).
And in the very next chapter, we see that they captured Lot, Abram’s nephew who was living in Sodom at the time (Genesis 14:12). You see how Lot went from pitching his tent near Sodom to actually living there and got dragged into a battle that he wasn’t meant to fight?
You may think that a little bit of compromise is okay. You may say, “Oh, my friends smoke and drink, whereas I don’t”. But you’re still near them. Watch out! It’s only a matter of time before you’ll be dragged in.
3) When you make choices based on your senses
The Bible says that Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plains of Jordan, that it was well watered like the garden of the Lord. (Gen 13:10). While Sodom may have looked like the best option based on one’s natural senses, it was destined for destruction. When you make choices or decisions based on your senses, it may temporarily make you feel that you are on the winning side, but again it’s a losing battle that you are fighting.
So what battles does God want you to fight?
Well, God wants you to fight the good fight of faith(1Timothy 6:12). God wants you to enter battles where you have heard Him and are standing on His Word. And, to fight the good fight of faith, you need to be close to the Word because faith can come only from the Word.
And that’s when you win effortlessly!
Don’t enter battles where the Word of God says a definite ‘NO’