When Will You Do Battle?

Christians have this thing about early morning quiet time. Not a bad thing, just a thing.

I'm not really a fan. But I try, because I acknowledge that there's something special about starting out the day hanging out with Jesus. But mornings are hard. I started this semester with really great intentions. However, even with getting seven hours of sleep a night, I'm still hitting snooze all the way through the hour that I said I would worship.

I recently heard the following  verse from Psalm 9 quoted from the Passion translation:

"When God shows up, I worship. And as I worship, the enemies flee."

I'm a worship leader. I've been taught this concept time and time again. I believe this concept. It's not new.

But today, I heard that verse, and God asked me the following question:

"When will you do battle?"

And I was reminded of all the battles I fought last week, battles I fought throughout the day and into the evenings. It was a bad week. I have never before felt like so many external sources had come against me. There was the demonic in one of its rawer forms, but I also found myself spun 'round by unexpected and hurtful comments from people. I felt so attacked. I told a friend I had never had to spend so much time on my mental/spiritual/emotional toes.

"When will you do battle?"

The question is not whether or not we will do battle, and the question is not whether or not we will win the battle. Those are not up for debate. We will do battle, and we will win. It is when we will win that is the question. {See what I did there?}

I can do battle in the mornings. I can force my eyes open, swing out of bed, and worship. Once I get over the whole morning thing, it's fun.

Or I can do battle throughout the day. I can fend off the attacks of the enemy as they come from both sides and behind. That's not fun.

I can play offense, or I can play defense. But I will play.

They say defense wins championships. That's true in the natural but not in the spiritual. In the spiritual, you send the worshipers into battle first. That is offense, and that is all the offense that you need. With that offense, you don't need defense.

I'm not saying that attacks won't follow a morning of worship. I'm just saying that it's a lot more fun to watch your enemies flee than to spend yourself defending against them.

You will do battle. The only question is when.