Ultimate Victory

August 2

The Old Testament is replete with stories of battles. The history of the Jews, God’s chosen people could not be complete without the tales of the enemies they encountered on their way to the Promised Land. In fact, even in our day, their restoration to the ancient land of Palestine which God gave to them involves an on-going contest between them and their Arab neighbors as to whom the land rightfully belongs.

That small piece of real estate, until it was re-established as a Jewish homeland, was virtually a no-man’s land where wandering bands roamed without claiming citizenship to any nearby country. When it was decided after WW II that the Jews needed a safe haven where they could be free from persecution, their arrival to this wasteland provoked an immediate, negative response from those surrounding countries.

Upon their arrival, these diligent and determined Jewish souls set about to thrive and prosper in this inhospitable desert—they literally brought to pass the Biblical prophecy that the land would, “…blossom like the rose” Isaiah 35:1. In order to make that happen, they waged a virtually continuous warfare with not only the elements but also with their bellicose neighbors. Though some of those neighbors live within the borders of Israel and thrive there, most continue to conduct subversive acts against them.

Today’s believer in the Lord, like the Jews, is surrounded by hostile neighbors who are not prospering in their current belief system, yet have no desire to assimilate into the family of faith in Christ. As the believer encounters conflict, he is encouraged by the words of the Beloved Apostle in I John 4:4, “You, dear children, are God’s and you have already overcome, because greater is HE who is in you than he who is in the world.” God promises that though His people may be required to fight, they will ultimately have a great victory.