God reigns victorious

God is undefeated.

i feel like we have all heard this or heard some stories relating to this. but we listen to those stories, and we don’t think it pertains to our own battles. do we not know how powerful God is? our God is a God of miracles for a reason, He makes the impossible happen with just a touch of His hand, and He always comes out victorious. do you know why God is undefeated? it’s because His plans never fail – ‘as I have planned, so it shall be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.’ (Isaiah 14:24) and God says ‘for I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.’ (Jeremiah 29:11). God does not go back on His promises, He is faithful to the very end – a trustworthy counterpart like no other, and He will win your battle. want to know why? because He is undefeated.

a cool story that i heard last week at chapel was about Elijah. Elijah was a mighty prophet in Israel back in the day when Israel decided to turn away from God and worship a god called baal. so, Elijah presented himself to the king at the time and told him to summon all the people of Israel, and to prepare a sacrifice for when they call on baal and he will do the same in which he will call on the Lord. there were 2 bulls prepared on a wooden altar, and the God who answered by fire is God. the baals called on their god for hours, cutting themselves, screaming and crying, and guess what. they heard nothing. Elijah’s turn. on his altar he added in 12 stones for the 12 tribes of the sons of Jacob. Elijah also dug a trench around the altar and had the baals fill up 4 jars of water and ordered them to be dumped on the bull and the wood. and then again. and again. and again. by the fourth time they had done this the water filled the trench surrounding the altar. when the time had come, and Elijah called out to God, He answered. ‘then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. and when all the people saw, they fell on their faces and said, “the Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” (1 Kings 18:38-39).

God is undefeated.

David and goliath – everyone knows this reference or has at least heard it used in some underdog situation. but the dialogue of this story gets me fired up and it should do the same to you. David had found favor in king saul’s eyes and thus entered into his service. and when the armies of Israel and the philistines had gathered for battle, they were separated by a valley. the philistines sent out a champion, like in the movie troy with brad pitt, named goliath. and he was a giant, an intimidating man, a man ‘that has been of war from his youth’ described by king saul in 1 Samuel 17. pretty much what we would call today a killing machine. and he would go stand every day for 40 days and 40 nights requesting Israel to send someone to fight him – so that the philistines could make servants of the Israelites. David would go back and forth from being with king saul to tending his father’s sheep. David was sent to the battle by his father to bring things to his brothers and to the king, but when David had arrived, he saw goliath standing alone, requesting a champion of Israel to fight for the enslavement of one’s people. David saw the fear on everyone’s face when looking upon goliath and David decided to do something about it. he spoke with the king and the king said to David ‘you are not able to go against this philistine to fight with him’ and David’s response was this ‘your servant used to keep sheep for his father. and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, i went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. and if he rose against me, i caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God. the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this philistine.’ (1 Samuel 17:34-37). David denied the armor and sword of the king, and instead held his staff and picked up 5 smooth stones and ran onto the battlefield. goliath couldn’t believe who Israel had sent out and said to David ‘come to me, and i will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field’ to which David replied ‘… i come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.’ (1 Samuel 17:44-45). Then David ran quickly to the battle line to meet goliath and slung one smooth stone and hit goliath in the forehead – ‘the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.’ verse 49.

God is undefeated.

there are plenty of other moments and stories throughout the Bible that will attest to how victorious our God is. there is no battle He has not won. and there is no battle in your life He will not conquer if you call on His name. i know the battles your facing today probably look different than these and a lot of other biblical stories, but the message remains;

God is undefeated.

God will deliver you from your battle just as He has time and time again.

God reigns victorious.