The battle is not yours to hold.

Are you in the middle of the battle of your life? Maybe it’s a health battle and you just received some life altering news, maybe it’s a relationship battle and you’re at a crossroads wondering if you should stay or go, or maybe it’s a financial battle and you’ve lost the income you’ve relied on – and now in the middle of this battle, you can’t seem to shake the feeling that YOU have to figure it all out on your own, but the battle is not yours to hold. 

God has a lot to say about our battles, and I want to encourage you with a story of God taking ownership of a battle, giving His people the victory over it, and using it to help strengthen their faith and trust in Him. 

In Exodus 14, God calls His people out of slavery in Egypt, and in this story the Israelites have just begun their journey when they encounter the biggest battle of their lives and face death with 600 Egyptians charging them to bring them back to the place they just left. The people are so fearful in this moment that they ask Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (Exodus 14:11-12).

Have you said something similar to God? “God, why would you provide this job just for it to be taken from me?” “God, why would you bring me this spouse just to have them cheat on me and leave me to parent alone?” “God, why would you heal my cancer just to have it come back?”

The Israelites said the same thing, “God, why would you give us the hope of a life outside of slavery just to have us die on our way to it?”

And as the Israelites were shaking in fear with death looming right in front of them, Moses answered the people with something monumental that changed their perspective in the battle of their lives:

“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:13-14).

What are the commands we see in this passage? Have no fear, stand firm, and be still. 

What are the results we see in this story? God takes ownership of their battle, He gives them the victory, and He uses it so they have a deeper trust in Him. 

1. God takes ownership of the battle. It’s not your battle to hold. It’s His. The people of Israel started to freak out because they believed it was THEIR battle to figure out and then blamed Moses and assumed they were going to die. In the scripture above, Moses reminds them of two things, one – to not be afraid, and two – to be still because God is the one that fights on their behalf. We also see these two things again in 2 Chronicles 20:15, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

1. God gives us the victory in the battle. He goes before us and guess what? We win! We may not see the victory of our battle in the way we want to see it or in the expectation we have, but we do have a promise that He goes before us, behind us, and beside us to fight our battles, and we are promised the victory. In this story, the people of Israel were saved from the Egyptians who all died in the middle of the sea that God parted for them to cross. In Deuteronomy 20:4 we are reminded again that we have the victory over our enemies, “For the Lord, your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

1. God uses the battle. He’s a good God and even though He does not like our pain or want us to struggle, He uses it for the good of us and others. God used this story and what the Israelites witnessed to change their view on their battle and on Him, and in that they ended up trusting God and Moses to continue to lead and guide them. Later Paul writes something similar to the Romans in Romans 8:28, “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” 

Maybe the battle you are currently walking through doesn’t seem to have a way out or a good ending, but that is exactly what the enemy wants you to believe – that you are stuck in this forever, that there is no way out, or even that you will die like the Israelites thought, but as we see God is a God of promises, and He promises that you are not alone, that the battle is His, that you will see a victory, and He will not only use it to strengthen you, but to strengthen people around you. 

God, we pray right now for the woman reading this who is currently in the battle of her life, give her daily strength to surrender this battle over to you, just as we have seen in this story in Exodus, your victory doesn’t always look like how we thought it would, but you go before us, behind us and beside us to protect us, to give us the victory and to use not only the good parts of our story, but the battles as well. Thank you, God for all you have done for us and all you will continue to do. We love you and trust you today and always. In Jesus mighty name, amen.

A bit about the author:

Hello sister and friend! I’m Kayla Nordlum! I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and now live in the beautiful state of Arizona, where the sun really never stops shining!

My story might be similar to yours, for years life felt empty, confusing and disappointing. Unmet expectations left me stuck and hopeless. I struggled to trust that God had good plans for my future because I constantly replayed the mess I made of my past. BUT GOD.

Through a personal relationship with Jesus I realized it was never about what I did or what I would do, but everything to do with what He could do through me. I decided to fully surrender to the Lord in May of 2020. Through my act of obedience, I watched toxic relationship cycles end and negative mindsets slowly transform. God finally had my FULL heart and life was now EXCITING. I had vision, passion and purpose that I could not come up with on my own.

In August of 2020, I started a business called Worth More Co. (@worthmoreco). A space to remind women to never settle in life, love, or faith + it’s been so amazing to see what God has done and what he is doing with this sweet little community, PLUS I create fun merch, and who doesn’t love that?!

Writing has always been healing for me, I have journaled almost daily since I was young, but I never felt qualified to write for others (doesn’t God always use those people?) In January of 2021, I got serious about writing my first book (“The One That God Away”) and it’s almost ready to be released! God is so faithful and kind, He really has the best redemptive stories!

Now more than ever I know that with God THERE IS MORE + I’m super passionate about helping women find the MORE in their stories too.

XO

Kayla

Keep up with Kayla on Instagram @kaylanordlum