When The Odds Are Against Us

Have you ever been in a situation where you feel like the odds are stacked against you and it seems there's no way out?

A few weeks ago, a struggle I'd been dealing with for quite a while came to a head. I'd been trying to take my thoughts captive, trying to tell myself the truth, trying to take it to God in prayer. But despite the efforts, I was beaten down, exhausted and completely worn thin. I didn't have it in me to keep fighting, which scared the be-gee-bees out of me.

I called my mentor and began pouring out my heart struggle to her. She listened, as she always does. Then she said something that really struck me.

"Although it seems that the battle lies between you and this person, I think the battle is really between Satan and God."

In other words, it's a battle only God can fight. This confirmed why I couldn't seem to overcome the struggle, why it seemed to be following me around like a raincloud. She told me to cry out to God to fight the battle for me and to not become weary in the midst of the battle.

We hung up the phone and I began to cry out to the Lord. "God, you have to fight this battle for me. I can't do it. It's too much for me to handle." Minute by minute, Over and over, day after day, I would cry out to God, because the thoughts were relentless. I kept thinking, 'don't grow weary, Jamie'. So I would keep crying out to God.

A week later I realized that I had made it through a day with hardly a struggle! I started looking back through my days and I noticed that with each day, the battle seemed to grow smaller. But I knew it wasn't over and I guarded against the prideful notion that I had become victorious in this fight.

So this morning the Lord brought me to 2 Kings 19. As a recap, King Hezekiah, the king of Judah and a God-fearing man, was facing the big bully king of Assyria. Assyria was a powerhouse nation and could defeat and overtake practically any kingdom. And the evil king had set his eyes on Judah. So Hezekiah began crying out to the Lord, acknowledging that he knew God could do anything and that only He could protect and save Judah. In verse 19 Hezekiah says "Now, Lord our God, please save us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God--You  alone." (HCSB) Hezekiah was crying out to God to fight a battle Judah was incapable of fighting.

In verse 35, the Bible says 'That night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning - there were all the dead bodies!'

God delivered Judah from the hands of the Assyrians without the people of Judah ever going into battle! And wow did He get all the glory!!!!

So here's a checklist. If you check YES to all of these, then friend, you might have a battle on your hands that only God can fight for you.
1. Do you have something you are struggling with?
2. Have you tried to take your thoughts captive and replace them with Biblical Truth?
3. Have you practiced telling yourself the Truth of God's Word?
4. Have you prayed about it, being completely honest with God?
5. After all these efforts, does your struggle seemed to have stayed the same or intensified?

Cry out to God to fight the battle for you. Don't grow weary or loose heart. And when it seems like your cries aren't making a difference, KNOW that they are, more than we will ever know. God is your Mighty Warrior and He hears all your cries!