Bigger Fights and Even Bigger Victories

 

God doesn’t leave us uninformed about the nature of spiritual warfare. In 1 Peter 5:8 (NLT), He tells us plainly, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” That is not an exaggeration. That is instruction. And many of us have learned the hard way what happens when we ignore it. We didn’t discern the setup. We didn’t recognize the subtle erosion. We didn’t see how the enemy was working through people, pressure, offense, distraction—anything he could use to steal, kill, and destroy what God was building in our lives. And we suffered for it.

It is a costly mistake to underestimate the adversary or assume he will play fair. He won’t. God’s Word is truth, and when He says stay alert, He means remain spiritually awake. That requires staying rooted in Scripture so our spiritual sight is clear and our hearing is sharp. A dull spirit makes easy prey. A guarded, Word-filled believer walks differently.

This is where our perspective becomes everything. When your spirit is awake and anchored in God’s truth, you don’t just see what’s in front of you—you see what’s behind you, covering you, and fighting for you. And that kind of spiritual sight is what separates fear from faith, hesitation from confidence, and defeat from victory.

David’s victory over Goliath is a perfect example. It was never about size. It was about sight. In 1 Samuel 17:45 (NLT), David says, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” That’s not the voice of a reckless boy. That’s the confidence of someone who knows where his strength comes from. Goliath was massive, trained, armored. David was young, overlooked, and carrying a sling. But he understood something most people around him did not: the battle wasn’t his to control; it was God’s to win through him. Faith does not deny the size of the giant. It refuses to magnify it above God.

And that first public victory wasn’t random. It was preparation. Before David ever wore a crown, he wore courage. Before he ruled a nation, he ruled his fear. The defeat of Goliath built spiritual muscle, so that when greater battles came—political betrayal, war, leadership pressure—David wouldn’t be new to the fight. His history with God had trained him. Bigger responsibility brought bigger warfare, but it also brought bigger victories because his trust had already been tested. And Scripture makes it clear why God’s hand remained on him. James 4:6 (NLT) reminds us, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” David stayed low before God, and God kept him covered. The same principle stands for us. Humility invites covering. Dependence attracts grace. When we bow our hearts before the Lord, we don’t shrink—we become positioned for battles we once thought were too big, and victories we didn’t yet know we were ready to carry.

When we are not spiritually alert and something hits us hard, it can feel devastating. The shock alone can knock the wind out of you. And if we’re not careful, we make a second mistake after the first blow—we lock our eyes on the problem instead of lifting them to God. The situation gets bigger in our minds than the One who holds it. But David understood something that keeps a believer steady. In Psalm 73:26 (NLT), he says, “My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.” That is perspective. Everything around us is temporary—positions, seasons, even the intensity of the storm. But God’s strength is not seasonal. His love does not expire. His power does not weaken with time. He is ours forever.

Scripture repeatedly calls us to keep our focus aligned. Isaiah 40:31 (NLT) reminds us, “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Trust produces strength, and dependence on our Heavenly Father produces endurance. When our eyes stay fixed on God instead of drifting toward fear, comparison, or despair, something supernatural begins to happen inside us. We are lifted. Not always out of the situation immediately, but above the panic of it. Our faith rises higher than the pressure. We don’t burn out because heaven keeps refueling us. This is what God does for His people when they trust Him wholeheartedly. He renews what life tries to drain. He strengthens what hardship tries to weaken. And He carries us farther than we ever could have gone in our own strength.

Faith is the engine that lifts us. It is the force that moves us from surviving to overcoming. And our faith is not fragile optimism—it is anchored in the faithfulness of God. He keeps His Word. He does not revise His promises based on our circumstances. Our victory is not rooted in our performance; it is rooted in what Jesus Christ has already accomplished. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:17 (NLT), “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” That means what feels heavy now is actually working something eternal in us. Pressure is producing weight. Conflict is refining conviction. The fight is forging faith that proves God’s Will is perfect and that He does not fail.

The more we grow in our faith through the Lord Jesus Christ, the more we step into who we were always destined to be. Hard seasons don’t erase identity—they clarify it. Because of Christ, we are far more than we once believed about ourselves. We are God’s children. We are covered. We are strengthened from the inside out. And 1 Corinthians 15:57 (NLT) declares it plainly: “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” That victory equips us to fight the good fight of faith without fear of ultimate defeat. We move forward knowing we are not abandoned in battle. The Holy Spirit empowers, Christ intercedes, and the Father’s Will stands firm. Bigger fights will come as we grow—but so will bigger victories. And every single one of them will testify that our God is faithful. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Bigger Fights and Even Bigger Victories”, written for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2026. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

God Will Answer Our Prayers!

 

In Matthew 7:7-8(NLT), our Master Jesus gives us a clear picture of what faithful, persistent prayer is supposed to look like. He said, “7 Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” What He says is both encouragement and instruction, because almost every believer has a “still waiting” in their prayer life. It’s that one thing you’ve prayed about the most and the longest, and you’re still waiting to see it manifest. And if you’re being honest, you’re not even sure what the next move should be. You’ve asked for this thing so long and so often that a part of you wonders if God might be tired of hearing it. So you’ve thought about pulling back… giving the request a rest. But we have it on good authority — that’s the wrong move.

God never tires of hearing from His people, and we know that prayer is one of the greatest opportunities and privileges that God has given us. It is our duty to pray for others, and it is our right to pray for ourselves in the powerful name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And knowing this should stir something in us — a desire to come to God with the very attitude our Messiah lays out in Matthew 7:7–8. But to understand what that attitude truly looks like, we need to take a closer look at the verses that come right before it in this same chapter.

Matthew 7 opens with Jesus warning us not to judge others, because the way we treat people will eventually make its way back to us. That’s hard medicine for many of us to swallow. We gossip, we speak negatively about folks, and sometimes we think even worse than what we say out loud. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:2 that this cycles back around, because the standard we use on others is the same standard that will be used for us.

There is a difference between having the wisdom to discern right from wrong and having a heart that’s eager to condemn someone. Wise discernment isn’t a license to look down on people — it’s an opportunity to respond with God’s grace. As believers, we’re called to walk in the way of Christ, to reject the sin without rejecting the person.

Scripture teaches us in Matthew 7:4 (NLT) that Jesus said, “How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?” And that’s the point — if we’re truly tending to our own spiritual growth and maturity, we won’t have the time or the desire to magnify someone else’s flaws. This isn’t a small lesson. It reaches into how deeply we value the incredible gift of salvation our Lord and Savior made available to us. The good news about Jesus Christ is the greatest treasure humanity has ever been given. Its worth can’t be measured, and nothing blocks our blessings more than treating lightly what Christ accomplished for us on the cross when He shed His blood to cleanse our sins. That’s where our focus belongs — learning of Him, loving Him, and living out the Gospel so others can encounter the same truth.

In Matthew 7:6, our Lord and Master warns us not to waste what is holy on those who have no desire to honor it. He tells us not to give pearls to pigs, because they will only trample what is sacred and may even turn on you. With razor-sharp clarity, Jesus is teaching us to be wise about the people we entrust with the truth of God’s Word. When someone has no regard for what is holy, they’re not yet in a place to value or respect it. And if we’re not careful, trying to force what they’re not willing to receive can weaken our own commitment, pulling our obedience down to the level of their disregard. Jesus is calling us to handle the gospel with the seriousness and stewardship it deserves.

God is showing us the connection between our reverence for the Gospel, the precious blood Jesus shed for our sins, and the way our prayers are answered. We are called to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking as we grow in faith — recognizing that God’s heart is far more open to us than our hearts often are to Him. He delights in the prayers of His people and opens the door of blessing according to His divine Will, but He also calls us to grow in maturity and stewardship as we walk with Him.

We must also remember that while we knock in prayer, Jesus is knocking too. He tells us in Revelation 3:20 (NLT), “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” As we deepen our knowledge of Christ, His love anchors itself even more firmly within our hearts.

God will answer our prayers. On this we can depend! And we must be as diligent to pursue Him through Jesus Christ as we are eager to receive His blessings. Heavenly Father never goes bankrupt; He never runs out of treasures. The well of His goodness is always overflowing.

Through Paul, He tells us in Philippians 4:19 (NLT), “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Every blessing we receive — whether small or monumental — comes from His inexhaustible supply.

But we must continually remember and keep at the forefront of our minds that Jesus Christ is the channel by which we have access to these riches. God tells us in 2Corinthians 1:20 that through Christ, ALL His promises are fulfilled with a resounding “Yes!” So we don’t just pray; we pursue. We keep knocking because He invites us to. We keep seeking because He’s already drawing us closer. And as we align our hearts with His Son, we position ourselves to receive what only God can give — the answers, the wisdom, the provision, and the blessings that flow from a Father whose love never runs dry.

This is the confidence we carry: when we come to God through Jesus Christ, the door of blessing is never closed to His children. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“God Will Answer Our Prayers!", written for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2026. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.