May I politely ask, what is your battle cry? What do you shout when you are in trouble? Okay, maybe you don’t shout literally, but who do you call upon in your time of need? Who do you cry out to help you in sickness or loneliness? Who do you call upon when you have problems with your children? Who do you call upon when your husband has decided he doesn’t want to be married to you anymore? Who do you call upon when you don’t have money for the pile of bills on the table?
A battle cry is known to be used to rally a group of soldiers in battle. If you aren’t currently in a battle, just hold on, one is on the way! Satan will not let Christians who are trying to live right and set a good example have long-range peace. He’d rather stifle us so that we can’t be productive Christians.
I’ll be completely honest, when I face a personal battle, more times than I should, I have first gone to a family member and asked for advice or help. Therefore, my battle cry becomes:
“Hey, I have a problem! Can you help?” My family and friends have always done what they could to help me in whatever I faced, but they weren’t God. I should have turned to God first.
There have been times when I went to a doctor for help. My battle cry became: “I need you to take the pain away…quickly!” The doctors have always been able to help me with what I needed at the time, but I should have turned to God first.
When my husband and I were young. We hadn’t been married a year when my five-hundred dollar car gave up the ghost…at night… on my way home…I was alone… without a cellphone. They weren’t even a ” thing” then! Our battle cry was directed to his parents. Please help! We need a vehicle to get to work! My good hearted father-in-law went to the car sales and brought me back a three-hundred dollar car! I appreciated that car just as much as if it had been a fifty-thousand dollar car because it provided a need. Yet, I should have turned to God first.
You talk about anger issues! There have been times when I felt like my children had been treated wrongly and I rallied my well meaning, supportive co-workers or friends to discuss what could be done about the matter. They always give such heartfelt advice: “Honey, I’d just call and give them a what-for!” “If I were you, I’d get them fired! That’s just not right!” as of late I might hear, “I’d just call them out on facebook so everyone would know what monsters they truly are!” We all knew I wouldn’t do those things, but it was what we wanted to do! Guess what? I should have talked to God first!
If you have a spouse or children like mine, you’ve probably ran to the preacher, a deacon, or Sunday school teacher with a battle cry for them to get a prayer through. Surely, they have a better connection to the Father right? Well, I’ve tried and they have prayed faithfully for my family. However, I should have gone to Christ in prayer myself long before I talked to others about the problem
Finally, my all-time self-fulfilling battle cry is, “I GOT THIS!” I cannot even imagine how many times I have decided to do something…even for Christ, that he hasn’t asked me to do. Not only that, but I hadn’t asked him if I should do them! Every – single – time, all those I GOT THIS battle cries have failed me.
Listen folks! We have the God of all the universe as our Father! He sent his son to die for us so that we could have a relationship with him. There is NOT ONE single problem or desire that God cannot answer at an even faster rate than anyone else in the world. Not only that, he takes care of things more accurately than anyone else! We only sell ourselves and our God short when we choose to call upon others before him. Take every single battle to God to ensure your needs are met. Battle cry: LORD, I NEED YOU! Remember: the power of positive thinking will only take you so far. It takes the power of the Holy Ghost to take you through your life successfully!
You’ll remember Abraham and Sarah wanted a son, but they were old. God had promised them a son, but they gave up too soon on God. Sarah in short, internalized her battle cry. She thought, I’ll take things into my own hands and get our desire accomplished. Then, Sarah asked her handmaid, Hagar, to bare Abraham’s child. Although this was a custom at the time, it wasn’t what God had promised. Later, Sarah became jealous of the child and had Ishmael and Hagar cast out of her house. Sarah failed.
Be ready to battle cry friends!
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and; his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33
Here’s another tidbit of information that might be useful when reading the Bible through. Write the date at the end of each chapter you read. Then, when you have finished a page, place a diagonal mark at the bottom of the page. This will help you to find your starting location more quickly the next time you open your bible. Dating each chapter will help you recall the last time you read or where certain verses are located.
