Friend, this battle was intense, the enemy started it, but Israel ended it -victorious! But could they go home and boast to their families that they won the battle? The soldiers had learned warfare and must have fought bravely, but did you notice who won this battle for them?
Look at this little statement: “As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning” (Exodus 17:11 NIV).
What an extraordinary way to win a battle, right? Here is Moses up on a hill, with men on each side of him, and if he raises his hands, the Israelites win the battle, but if he lowers his hands, they lose!
Imagine an Israelite soldier being in the heat of battle, fighting the good fight. And in a brief lull in the action, he turns and looks up to the hill, and there he sees three men, the one in the middle has his hands outstretched in victory. And that soldier knows somehow that what that man in the middle is doing is winning the battle for him, and so, he fights harder!
Do you see what I mean about fighting in the shadow of the cross?
Friend, overeating food is a mighty temptation. The battle to overcome is intense. You will have to look to the Lord in making a plan to defeat it and fight hard to overcome it. But stop for just a minute, and turn and look up to the hill of Calvary. There you see three men, and the one in the middle has His arms outstretched in victory. And what He is doing there has won the battle for you!
“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:15 (NIV)
Like the Israelite soldier in battle, we must fight with our eyes on the man in the middle (Jesus on the cross), receiving grace from God, thanking Jesus for forgiveness and reconciliation through His death and resurrection.
“...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:2-3 (NIV)
Yes, we must learn warfare, learn how to fight, and receive plans from God on how to defeat our enemy. But our fight must be waged in the shadow of the cross, knowing that Jesus has won the battle for us through His death and resurrection, and this is true whether we are doing great and winning, or whether we have stumbled and fallen.
Question 6. What did you learn in this lesson today and how will you apply it?
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
Question 7. According to the video, what do we look to for God's approval of us instead of the scale?
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
Jodi is truly growing in the Lord, and she writes, "This video was so much confirmation for me as God has been telling me also to not look to the scale for my approval. When I first started the course I planned to weigh myself every week but each time I think about it, the Lord says to me are you doing it for me or the scale? Why should I weigh when I am doing this for the Lord so it really doesn't matter what number is on the scale. To me it is all about whether I am following God's lead each day with my food and that is freeing indeed!! The scale puts my thoughts back into the world and I want my focus to be on God and Him alone! I want to follow His lead in everything!"