You’ve got the power
It was my first day at the new middle school. After getting my lunch tray, I surveyed the room in search of the nearest open seat. When I spotted it, I walked over to it, plopped down in it and prepared to eat. That’s when I saw a tall girl hovering over me yelling, “This is my seat!”
She was the school bully, and she was commanding me to get up. Despite not wanting any trouble, I refused to obey her orders. “There are no names on these seats, and I’m not moving,” I said.
When I stood my ground, she felt insulted and threatened me, saying, “Don’t let me catch you after school!”
At the end of the day, I exited the school building with my adrenaline pumping and a crowd of rowdy students trailing me, expecting to see me get beaten down for standing up to the bully. She had a strong reputation for pummeling contrarians, and I had embarrassed her publicly, so I was in big trouble. At least that’s what my peers told me.
But, that day, I guess she got cold feet or something. She didn’t show up, and I avoided a fight. Yet, it wasn’t over. One day, she randomly attacked me in the hallway and hit me so hard, I saw stars. Nevertheless, I didn’t back down. And I’ll just say, one of us lost that day—badly. And that person wasn’t me.
Fighting has always been unpleasant for me. But growing up in the inner city, I got picked on a lot, so I had to develop the skill to fight. Over time, I understood my own strength and knew my power. I never started a fight, but I never lost one either.
In Scripture, like me, the Israelites didn’t want to fight against their bullies that were occupying Canaan, the land God had promised and given to them. In Joshua 17-18, though God gave all the Israelite tribes (except the tribe of Levi) a land inheritance, seven of the tribes slow-poked around when time came to claim what was rightfully theirs.
“Fight for the inheritance of blessings that is rightfully yours. Fight with prayer. Fight with faith. Fight with perseverance. Don’t back down. You will receive it if you don’t give up! ”
Joshua asked the Israelites in Joshua 18:3, “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?”
They needed to stop dragging their feet, and possess the promise. Despite their enemies still occupying some of those territories, the land belonged to the Israelites. All they had to do was use their divine power to fight, and drive the enemy out.
The same is true for you.
There are blessings and breakthroughs that are already yours, but that doesn’t mean the enemy will stop trying to get a foothold in your life. He’ll do his best to infiltrate your world, create chaos and confusion, and fight you tooth and nail. But you have the power to fight and win!
Fight for your destiny. Fight for your promise. Fight for what’s yours. Fight with prayer. Fight with the word of God. Fight with faith. Isaiah 54:17 already tells you, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.” Victory is your inheritance. You will possess every promise, as long as you use your power.
God, Your word tells me in 2 Corinthians 10:4 that I had divine power to pull down strongholds. Please help me use that power You have given me to come against every oppositional force, possess every promise, win every battle, and secure every breakthrough that is already mine by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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