Victory.

You might lose the battle, but God always wins the war.

Battle: 

-An encounter between opposing forces.

-Armed fighting; combat: wounded in battle. 

-A match between two combatants: trial by battle. 

War:

-A state of open, armed, often prolonged conflict carried on between nations, states, or parties. 

-The period of such conflict. 

[A battle is just a part of the war]

If you are like me there are days when you lay your heard down on your pillow at night and ultimate defeat strikes you. Your youngest child pitching fits all day, your oldest falling into the ways of the world, the mirror telling you that you aren't good enough, your parents not loving you, the list goes on and on. These are all battles, encounters with Satan. Yeah, you might lose the battle today, or you might have lost the battle yesterday and felt like Satan won, and honestly that is okay, or I feel like it is at least. If we believe that it's not, that is telling ourselves that its not okay to not be okay, and if we were all okay we wouldn't even need Jesus, and I think I can get an amen to the fact we need Jesus. 

But the beautiful thing is; the battle is just part of the war. Battles make up the war. Even in legitimate wars a nation could lose battles, multiples ones, but still win the war. That's my hope today. So what if I go to sleep at the end of the day and feel defeat. So what if today pain wins over, and all I have is tears. I lost the battle, but Jesus ALWAYS wins the war, and because He is victorious we are victorious. So today you are victorious in Him and with Him. 

Deuteronomy 20:1-4 (message)

"When you go to war against your enemy and see horses and chariots and soldiers far outnumbering you, do not recoil in fear of them; God, your God, who brought you up out of Egypt is with you. When the battle is about to begin, let the priest come forward and speak to the troops. He’ll say, “Attention, Israel. In a few minutes you’re going to do battle with your enemies. Don’t waver in resolve. Don’t fear. Don’t hesitate. Don’t panic. God, your God, is right there with you, fighting with you against your enemies, fighting to win.”

Fighting against your enemies.

Fighting to win.

I don't claim to know what you are fighting against today, and I sure don't claim to say that it is easy. But whatever your enemy is, I know that Jesus is fighting against it, and I know He is fighting to win. But more than that, I know He does win. 

"The battle of life is, in most cases, fought uphill; and to win it without a struggle were perhaps to win it without honor. If there were no difficulties there would be no success; if there were nothing to struggle for, there would be nothing to be achieved."

-Samuel Smiles 

To win without struggle is to win without honor. To win without struggle means to win without anything achieved. 

Yesterday I watched my cousin get baptized, and I can honestly say she lost multiple battles. She would tell you that herself. She fights addiction everyday and in the past she lost over and over. But yesterday she stood in front of others and as she wiped the water off her face as she come up from being baptized; Jesus won the war. 200 days sober on the day she got baptized. Jesus won the war. Fired from her job because of addiction, but now has a better job than she did before. Jesus won the war. Lost and broken and searching for an escape from pain and now one of the most joyful people I know, and finds her escape in worship. Jesus won the war. 

Jesus is greater than anything you walk into, walk through, or face today or any other day. Because He is greater, we will always overcome. 

Today Jesus, we admit that we know we might feel defeat but we hold tight to the fact you will always win. We hold tight to the fact you are greater.