The Battle Belongs to the Lord

In my last two articles “He Touched Me” and “Freeze Tag” (www.restforyoursoul.org) I wrote about being frozen in life and using drugs, men and drinking to numb myself. This article is about what happened after “day one”, how I remained free from drugs.

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1 NKJV

Satan really doesn’t like it when someone gets free from his or her bondage. He kicks up a fight. I quit a 23-year habit of smoking pot on a Tuesday, on Wednesday I went to a Bible Study and while I was there, my car window was broken and my CD player was stolen. I went back into the building called the Police and made a report. I cleaned up as much of the glass as I could and went home to vacuum out the car. When I got home, the guy from across the alley came over and he was drunk, he was hugging me and trying to kiss me (he’s married with 5 kids!). I had to fight to get out of his arms. I got into the house and realized I was in a war!

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 NKJV

The first thing I did was to speak out loud to the enemy. I don’t remember my exact words, but I told him I knew he had challenged me to war and I was ready to fight! I told him I have Jesus Christ and His blood on my side, I have heavenly weapons and armor and he was already defeated! I got everything in my house that had anything to do with drugs, I still had pipes, papers and other paraphernalia, and some pot left. I bagged it all up and put it by the door and told Satan I was getting it out of the house the next day. I had a DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) bumper sticker in the house I put it on my car the next morning.

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:13 NKJV

Joyce Meyer (Bible speaker and teacher) was doing a series “The Battle Belongs to the Lord” on TV. I would tape the show and watch it after work. Everyday I would do exactly what the Bible says to do in II Chronicles 20. King Jehoshaphat was in a battle with the Moabites, the Ammonites and the Meunites; I was in a battle with the “addiction-ites”. King Jehoshaphat sent the choir singing praises out to lead them into battle, and I did the same thing. I sang praises to the Lord constantly all day long. When I was alone I sang out loud and when I wasn’t alone I sang them in my head. I watched the “Battle Belongs to the Lord” segment of Joyce Meyer over and over; I watched it every day at least once. I read II Chronicles 20 in the Bible at least 3 times every day for the first month. I just saturated my soul with that story whenever I could and when I couldn’t I was singing praises!

“You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” II Chronicles 20:17 NKJV

I am here today to tell you that it works! Praise is a very powerful weapon against the enemy. It worked for me and I know it can work for you as well.

“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke apart the bonds that held them. For He has broken the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron apart.” Psalm 107:13-14, 16 AMP

Steven Curtis Chapman has a song called “Remember Your Chains” “Remember your chains, remember the prison that once held you, before the love of God broke through. Remember the place you were without grace, when you see where you are now, remember your chains, and remember your chains are gone.”

“Imagine what your life would be, if Jesus had not set you free.”

This is a great message. No matter how far I’ve come, I always want to remember where I started.

“For whoever lacks these qualities is blind, (spiritually) shortsighted, seeing only what is near to him, and has become oblivious (to the fact) that he was cleansed from his old sins.” II Peter 2:9 AMP

Praise God!

0 comments