Did you know that with the Lord there are only two seasons we are called to be in : Fighting and Resting ? And sometimes both at once in different areas of our lives ! As I look around the body of Christ it seems to me that many do not have the understanding and knowledge of how to ‘fight’ well. As a result many do not see the results and break-throughs they long for ! Likewise, many don’t know that there are times that we need to ‘rest’ in the Lord and so once again, sadly only experience slow progress ! Please note, the bible may also refer to resting as ‘standing’ in the physical and ‘contending’ as fighting in the spiritual realm (Old & New Testaments).As you contemplate your day could you benefit from incorporating your current season in your activities ?
Today I want to talk about how to fight and rest well, for I believe these are our biggest weapons in warfare against the enemy.If we fight in a resting season we will not win or obtain the reward. It is the same if we are in a fighting season and we are resting, then we are likely to become complacent and frustrated and make silly mistakes (this is what happened to King David ; 2 Samuel 11).The secret is to know what season you are in personally and the way to know, is to ask the Lord. If He says fight, we fight knowing He has given us the strength and He will be fighting with us to see victory ! But if He says restwe need to trust that this is His fight and He will win it for us ! Both take faith, strength, courage and hope ! (Hebrew 11:1)
You will see this throughout the bible, some were called to fight, like Gideon and King David. The battles were victorious because the Lord was fighting with them. For others the Lord said rest (stand) and watch Me fight for you, like Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah. But all these amazing people that were victorious in battles did not have a clue what to do without enquiring of Him. That usually involved getting into a position or emotional state where they could hear. So this is where we need to start, by asking the Lord with discernment, and waiting in patience for Him to speak. When He says rest, we do it, just as when He says fight, we do that ! Remember to keep on enquiring of the Lord. This could be constantly, hourly or daily depending on the challenge that you are facing !
So let’s look at how to be effective in both these positions:
How do we rest :
Resting is not going to sleep or going on holiday, but waiting in full amour on the battle line, watching what the Lord is doing and waiting on His word. Then we can share in the victory and celebrate with Him in giving thanks. Nb. The bible often refers to resting as ‘standing’ (waiting expectantly for His action and any supportive role He may have for us)! We see recorded examples of this in Hezekiah (2 Kings 19) and Jehoshaphat, (2 Chronicles 20:1-30).
How do we fight :
Last year my wife was admitted to hospital with extreme abdominal pain. She had a high fever and was clearly very sick. It was a challenging time ! My first approach was prayer, personally and then corporately. I felt to invite all to pray with me. We are so blessed to have a large group of believers who will stand with us praying, fasting and contending for break-throughs ! I would like to take a moment to honour these incredible prayer warriors, for without them our ministry would not function to the level it does. But I knew I needed a word from the Lord to camp on as experience tells me that when the Lord speaks we can trust what He says, thank Him and it will happen as He has said. It’s only through this belief and conviction that we can enter a place of peace. Those who rest in the Lord, they will renew their strength, lift up their wings, run and not stumble, walk and not get faint ! (Isaiah 40:31)
Preparation is where our protection and provision come from. So first I rested, setting the alarm early to sit and seek His words. I awoke and wrote down all He spoke ; internalised His words, looked for confirmation and read the Bible. This was all done in a state of expectancy so that I wouldn’t miss anything ; not a whisper, impression or suggestion. In these times, I don’t know why, but the Lord often speaks in unusual ways ; pictures, visions, thoughts, dreams, sense of smell, taste and touch have all been experienced ! This is why it is so important to sit in a positive state of expectancy rather than being rushed or stressed ; potentially leading us to speculate on gloomy possibilities. If we don’t get ourselves into a receptive state we could very well miss His fresh word which may be delivered in a new form or way. The very instructions needed to win the battle !
Often, at these times, things only make partial sense, or do not make sense at all. In my case, some did and other parts did not ! Regardless, I wrote it all down and asked Him to show me how the pieces I had made a picture ! Remember the Lord is outside of time, (Isaiah 55:8-9, His thoughts are higher than ours) He see’s all and His view is for the whole journey. So although it may not make complete sense to us now, the puzzling parts could, and often are, the very pieces needed for breakthroughs at crucial times ahead ! If you are not in that place of peace or are not hearing His voice, find someone you trust, that you know hears from the Lord, and ask them for His word ! I cannot count the number of times I have been asked to do this and every time the Lord has come through, as He will for you if you ask and trust.
So now you have your word(s)
First note: The level to which youknow how good the Lord is, will be to the level to which you will walk in His favour !
Possibly this is what we are seeing in the following verse’s : Luke 2:52
And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
1 Samuel 2:26
And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with people.
Second note:It cost a lot on the cross for these words, so the words you receive are precious and priceless ! All words that hold ‘breakthrough’ are precious ! Don’t contaminate them by adding your thoughts or reasoning; keep them as they were delivered to you. Consider doing as Mary did :Luke 2:19
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart
Here are a couple of scriptures highlighting this point :Psalm 199:72
The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
Psalms 19:10
- The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the LORD are firm, and all of them are righteous.
- They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.
Keep these words at hand and wait for the right time to use them. Ask the Lord how and when you are to activate them. Ready and primed for when you will enter the enemy’s camp.Imagine you are planing to build a house. Houses have many parts and if you were to build the roof before the floor and walls what would happen ? Yes, it can be done with difficulty, by the use of a crane but there is a better way, there is a sequence, an order of construction and timing required. It is the same with the words from the Lord. Keep them close to your heart and meditate on them regularly to see if they are now relevant and timely. Mary did this in Luke 1 ; the angle of the Lord’s message was strange and puzzling ! She first recognised it was a word from the Lord and in faith agreed to the pregnancy and committed the words to her heart. At that moment she conceived and may not have felt anything, but it happened. It is this way in the world with natural conception , BUT as it is with conception so it is also with the words of the Lord. In Mary’s case she trusted, meditated, and the words came to pass, as they will for you too, if you apply the same faith and obedience. Every word from the Lord contains all that is needed to see it come to full completion no matter how big or small the challenge is ! In my case I had three things that first morning. I did not like them, but I thought if this is how He wants to do it, who am I to disagree. So I waited for the right time to share with my wife what the Lord had said. The next day these words became very useful for her and enabled her to make an important decision with confidence. The Lord had spoken to her that very night too and my words confirmed what the Lord was saying to her. Then the Lord said ; ‘Love and walk with her for whatever she decides’. So I did. Now I had my word, instructions and battle plan’s it was time to fight ! I started with fasting, praying, and continued with praise and worship. Nb. Fasting is not a way to push God, but for us to come closer to Him and strengthen our relationship with Him. In that way when He speaks; first we hear Him and second we have the faith to believe His message ! I started fasting and praying and sent out an invitation for others to join me. The response from the 300 on our list of prayer warriors was very encouraging ; they really stood up, some fasting, standing in the gap contending, and of course many praying ! I endeavoured to send out regular updates and advise the prayer warriors of battle instructions the Lord was giving me.
We contended with decrees, declarations and blessing Win’s body. As I was leaving the hospital one night I remember the Lord saying to me ; ‘The battle is over and we have won’ ! I was some-what confused by this word, and replied to the Lord ; ‘But my wife is still in pain and in hospital, how can the battle be over’? In reply He said ; ‘After the battle what does the battle field look like’? And with that He showed me a classic, post battle-field scene where injured people were being picked up, attended to amidst a lot of mess and confusion ! He said; ‘That is what you are seeing, but the battle is over, and is won’ !That very afternoon, prior to the Lord telling me the battle was over, Win’s blood pressure had gone sky-high. Was I going to believe God or the enemy ? I asked others to join me in prayer and worship. I got up the next morning and asked the Lord ; ‘Do I fight or rest today’ ? He said ; ‘Rest and celebrate’! So I grabbed a coffee and that was the day everything turned around in the hospital ward ; patients were cleared out and the following day Win walked out too ! It was time to give thanks, to Him be the Glory !
A few nights ago I had a similar experience. Win was in surgery and I was quietly waiting in the ward for her to return. Then I sensed something was wrong and enquired of the Lord ? He said ; ‘Fight’. I was led by the spirit to get up and began by dancing, then worshiping and praising. After a period of this I felt to ask others online to join with me in celebrating the victory to come. That darkness I had sensed was the enemy so I told him to sit down and watch us celebrate a victory. Nurses were coming and going and patients to and from the toilet ; all were puzzled by this man dancing, worshipping and declaring etc. I felt to text again to advise supporters of what was happening and what I was doing. After two and half hours beyond the scheduled surgery time Win was rolled into the room. The battle was won. God is so good ; it was time to give thanks ! Later we had the opportunity and privilege to share what He was doing with nurses and patients. They were amazingly thankful too. One of the nurse’s said ; ‘What a prefect time to do what you were doing’! Big thanks to those who stood alongside as soldiers.
So my battle plan, from the Lord for that night was to fight and contend through praise and worship and to invite others to party with me in Win’s victory; and it worked ! Battle plans from the Lord can seem strange. Look at how Joshua was to ‘battle’ and see the walls of Jericho come down. An almost humiliating daily procession prefaced an extraordinary victory in the battle to take fortress Jericho (Joshua 6:1–27)!
Three things I learnt from these experiences that I would like to pass on to you :1. Ask Him if He wants you to ‘fight’ or ‘rest’.2. Trust the word He gives you. 3. Then do what He say’s no matter what the circumstances ; He knows what He is doing.Additional considerations : 1.The power of community prayer.2.That He is good and will never let you down.3.To give thanks in all situations.
Here is your Challenge today :
- In those areas of your life where you have challenges ask the Lord, are you to fightor rest ?
- In each area, whether you are to fight or rest ask for and seek confirmation. If you are drawing a blank ask a person you trust (that hears clearly)and ask them to intercede for you !
- Now trust in what He has said and do it !
- If it is a resting season, prepare and rest in Him. Wait for Him to activate the victory.
- If it is a fight season ask Him for a battle plan. When you receive the plan ask for the order and when to commence the battle.
- Enquire through the course of the battle if you are to do anything else or change tack ?
- Adopt a proactive position by incorporating your current season in your days activities whether in good times or bad.
- When the battle is victorious remember to give thanks, for without Him there would not be a victory at all !
Father I thank you that You are for us, leading us into battle to overcome ; for we are more than conquerors through You ! I pray You will take this message and personalise it for each individual and the challenges they have and will face in days to come. That they may be victorious through you ! Amen
Craig and Winnie Patten
Itinerate Pastor / Apostolic Leaders
Encounter Ministries
