Do we find ourselves 100% of the time to be fully trusting in God? Or do we often find ourselves putting our trust in other things and searching for those things in our lives? Sometimes placing our trust in the right place can be a tricky thing. It’s not always that we don’t know to trust God, it’s just that other things come up and distract us and provide us comfort, at least for a while, and our trust begins to shift to things other than God. Has that ever been the case for you?
In Judges Chapter 4, we can see this battle between trusting in God and other things. On one side of the battle, you have Deborah and Barak with their army who placed their trust fully in God. On the opposite side, you have Sisera and his army who placed their trust in the chariots and weapons they were using. Notice what we have taking place here! There are two sides pitted against each other here, both with the attitude of “We will win because of what we have with us!” We can see the outcome of this battle in verse 15 which says that the Lord broke Sisera’s chariots and delivered the army to Barak.
That story says a lot about God! Even though, by all earthly measures, Deborah and Barak were outmatched, they still were victorious! They show that trusting in God is obviously a much greater advantage then putting trust in chariots and weapons.
Do we ever find ourselves in the same situation? Where we feel as if we are terribly outmatched. This could be at school seated across from a number of friends who disagree with us about the Bible. It could be that we feel burdened and defeated by the difficulties of this life like busy schedules and difficult work lives. Maybe we feel overtaken by evil in this country or the world because of issues like the abortion, homosexuality, or other things. Finally, maybe we find ourselves the most troubled by the battle that is being wages over the souls of mankind between God and Satan.
Whatever the struggles or oppression may be, Deborah and Barak show us that placing trust in God is the way to be victorious in all battles we face. This is because God has assured victory to his people! Deborah was confident in this in vs. 14 when she proclaims before the battle that they would be victorious against the army of Sisera. We too can have the same confidence entering the battles in our lives. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God will not allow any temptation or struggle to face us that we do not have the means to escape! That is a comforting thought! It doesn’t matter what hurdles may be in our way, God says none are too great to overcome with him on our side! We can enter all battles, knowing that we will be victorious with God!
Let’s not underestimate, however, the difficulty of what lies ahead. God never promised for easy lives. He just promised to be sure we were equipped with all we need to succeed. In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul describes the armor that God gives us in preparation for the battles we face. This armor consists of the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit! This is protection unlike any other! God has prepared us for victory and with him we will never lose salvation!
Psalm 20:7 – “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”