The Agony of Defeat

"As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated."
2 Chronicles 20:22

We know that we are not defeated. We are victorious through Christ. If we feel defeated it is usually because we are thinking that way. If we don't see the answer right away, we think the enemy has won. If the direction isn't presented immediately, we say we feel deserted by God. Today, we need to understand that we are never defeated. We walk in the same victory that Christ does. He won that victory at the cross. In the Old Testament, there are several stories about God giving direction to his people when they faced a daunting enemy. The scripture above is one of them. There is a key found there that will help us walk in the victory we already have.
    There are two ways to fight a battle: One way is to go out there yourself bearing your own sword. If you have more strength than the enemy, you may win. The other way is to allow God to give you direction about how to fight the battle. Remember, Ephesians 6:12 tells us that our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual rulers. So your battle is never about a person. Even if someone appears to be your enemy, it is because that person has been influenced by our real enemy, the devil. So we must first understand that our battles are spiritual ones rather than physical ones. When we understand this and we stop fighting the battles ourselves, it opens up a whole new dimension of victory. God knows the best way to fight the battle. In some cases, you will not have to fight at all. God will win the battle.
    The key I would like us to see today is this: In our scripture, they began to sing and praise God. The result of this was victory over their enemies. Notice that they did not fight at all. It says that God laid the ambushes against them. All this happened because the people praised God. It is so important to praise God. It is the one thing he really desires. God does not impose his will on us. He wants to bless us and see his will accomplished on earth, but he will not force it on us. In the same way, God does not force us to praise him, but he wants us to. So when we face battles that seem impossible to win, our first course of action should always be to praise God. We praise him for who he is, for what he has done already, and what he is going to do. This releases the armies of heaven to go before us and fight. The agony of defeat is never ours to endure. If we will allow God to fight for us, we win...every time.