One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given by a pastor who had been in ministry far longer than I have was this, don’t attend every fight you are invited to. Whether we want to admit this or not, a lot of times we feel like we have to defend ourselves when we feel that we have unjustly been attacked. When we are right, how do we handle the accusations and the attacks? Here is what God says in Numbers 17:5, “And it shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, which they make against you.”
Don't attend every fight you are invited to. Click To TweetThis is God talking to Moses after a rebellion had occurred just one chapter earlier. God was going to show once and for all, who He had chosen to represent Him to the people, and who had the responsibility of representing the people before God. Twelve rods, that is one from each tribe of Israel, was laid in the tabernacle. Each rod had the name of a tribe of Israel on it. The next morning, it was Aaron’s rod that had bloomed. This was God saying, Aaron and his descendants are the ones I have chosen. Let’s not miss the bigger picture here. Remember, the question is, how am I to handle false accusations and unjust attacks? Notice in our verse, God said that He was going to take care of it. When we do the right thing for the right reason, we can know that the Lord will fight for us. This doesn’t mean, however, that things will always turn out the way that you want them to. It simply means that we will be honoring God by doing the right thing regardless of the cost. In fact, that is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. It means loving Him above anything and anyone else. It means desiring to see Him glorified and His will be done no matter what.
So, don’t attend every fight you are invited to. Instead, fight the fight on your knees in prayer.
If you have to fight the battle, fight it on your knees in prayer. Click To TweetAsk the Lord, what is right according to You? What are you asking me to do in this situation? And then ask for His help to do it, and the grace to trust Him even if it doesn’t turn out the way you think it should. The good news is, the Lord will fight for us when we are doing the right thing, the right way, for the right reason. No matter what, we have the promise from God that He will be there with us, and He will walk with us through it. Praise the Lord for being ever present with us in our time of need!
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin