Every Battle Belongs to the Lord

I admit it......in the past I have given up my pursuit of reading through the entire Bible because it has been so painstakingly difficult for me to get through so many weird names and places....people begatting people....ways to be "clean"...how many days to stay outside the city...battles to fight....bad kings....good kings.... and a God that seems really mean.... in the Old Testament.

It can be a battle to train and discipline yourself to read and meditate on the Word...especially if you are prone to distraction....as am I.

He can seem very unlike the God of the New Testament if not understood correctly as a God who is both merciful and just....that He is still the same GOD, but has given us a way to holiness by grace through our faith in Jesus Christ.  I have had to give that concept a lot of thought over the years and allow Him to make sense of it for me.  GOD NEVER CHANGES. SIN ALWAYS DESERVES DEATH.  NO SIN IS WORSE THAN ANY OTHER SIN.  MY RIGHTEOUSNESS IS AS FILTHY RAGS (and if you do a study on that you will be appalled at the description).  It helps me to understand the chasm between who GOD is (which I get if I read the Old Testament) and who I am....I have to understand that before I can appreciate and have gratitude for what has really been accomplished for me, right?  I have to come to a right FEAR of GOD....and awe of HIS holiness to even begin to seek true wisdom.

Because of my lack of fortitude to press on in the Old Testament, I have more knowledge of the New Testament...so, this year....I determined to press on and make it all the way through the Old and New Testament and I pray I will get better at this each year and that I am training myself to partake of the whole Word of God and try to meditate on it.  Today I read a passage in 1 Kings where Ahab is fighting against Ben-Haddad and the message behind this battle really stood out to me...(like those times God says something straight to you) here is verse 28...

The man of God came up and told the king of Israel (Ahab), "This is what the Lord says: "Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord."

So, even in the middle of all these battles in the Old Testament where my mind starts to wander and I am wondering, Lord, do you have a lesson here?  YEP....YOU ARE HERE....WHAM there is this incredible lesson about knowing GOD as the GOD of the mountains and the GOD of the valleys....to me it said...."I AM THE GOD OF THE OLD AND THE GOD OF THE NEW".....and allowing God to be Lord of every part of our lives....GOD OF OUR EVERYTHING....that's powerful stuff!  If we can really understand that, I am sure we will be amazed at the victories He will deliver into our hands just to show us who HE is.