The Battle Belongs to the Lord
January 15, 2020 by Aubrey Spencer
Filed under Daily Devotions, Humorous
By Aubrey Spencer –
It seems I spend a great amount of time each day involved in battle. A heated battle. Often a losing battle. I honestly feel as if I’m up against an opponent that never retreats. It’s frustrating and oh so tiring.
You may be wondering what this fight is. Who knows? You might even struggle with the same enemy.
It is toys! Mounds and mounds of toys. That’s right, I’m battling toys. They are overtaking my house and they seem to multiply. I fight hard to keep things picked up, to put the toys where they go, but the reality is, I am losing the war. With a three and a half year old and a one year old at home, it’s a wonder why I even engage in this battle. It’s inevitable that the moment I can actually see the floor, one of my little darlings is right behind me, dumping out yet another basket of toys. I can’t count the number of times each day I crawl on the floor, bend over, or crouch down to retrieve one that has tried to escape. Seriously, do these toys clone themselves?
Just the other day, as I was on my knees picking up toys for the tenth time that morning, I thought to myself, “look at all this time I’m wasting.” And then it hit me. “Look at all this time I’m wasting!”
Instead of using all that time on my hands and knees griping, consumed in the task of clean up, I could be on my knees, picking up toys, praying for my children. I could take advantage of being on my knees. I could see it as a blessing instead of a battle. What a perfect opportunity. What a different perspective. It’s as if God reached down and smacked me with a fresh outlook. I now look forward to cleaning up the toys. I like knowing that I will have many, many, times throughout the day to cover my children in prayer.
Though it took me a while to realize it, but the battle really does belong to Lord.
PRAYER: Lord, it is so easy to see obstacles instead of opportunities. Help me to have a fresh perspective. Allow me to use my everyday to draw closer to You, to glorify You, and to make a difference for You. Remind me that every battle is an opportunity in waiting.
BIBLE VERSE: “…Do not be …discouraged…For the battle is not yours, but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15 NIV).
Aubrey Spencer is a minister’s wife and stay-at-home mom to two little miracles, Oliver and Ava. She has a passion for writing and entertaining but realizes her greatest ministry at the moment is to raise her children to be people after God’s own heart. She loves to see how God shows up in everyday situations. Read more of her writings at http://ministrymama.blogspot.com.
I’ve never thought of it that way. Yesterday was oil spilled all over the floor, clothes in the bath tub, and dirt all over the patio, on top of all the toys. I was at my wits end. I need to remember to pray through it. Thank you!
Yes the battle belongs to the Lord, but the toys stay put, well, for awhile. Us ol’ grandparents miss the kids, so when the kids are gone and we can actually hear each other in normal conversation, and we get rid of whatever it was that smelled that bad, we stop… Yup, that’s it, just stop and wait, for the litter on the floor is where little David stood as he cut up papers, just like this, see papa? Or the frilly dress up clothes we have, now arranged as Ella left them, cause look papa, see how this looks better. So we wait, oh sometimes for as long as a week, stopping to stare in memory, knowing we have to sweep and clean away the memories…, but not yet.