Battle Belongs
This Sunday we are looking at John 6:1–13 and the feeding of the five thousand. Before we get into this devotional, I encourage you to stop here, read the story, and then come back.
In this passage the disciples are presented with a problem. They had to provide food for a large number of people, but they didn’t have the resources. The disciples hadn’t planned to provide a meal, so they didn’t have anything on hand. The cost to feed this group would have been about half a year’s worth of wages, so buying food was kind of out of the question.1
In other words, what they needed to do seemed impossible.
Which leads me to ask the question: How do you respond when presented with the impossible?
On my first ever trip as Youth Director, we were going to Creation Festival when the van we were borrowing broke down. There was no way we would all fit in the car—not to mention figuring out how I was going to get the van off the side of the road.
We were kind of stuck facing an impossible problem. I’d be lying if I said my first instinct was to pray. My first instinct was to look at what I could do to fix the situation.
Which is exactly what Philip and the disciples did in our key text. Their first reaction was to try and solve the problem themselves, and the best they could come up with was a boy with some bread and some fish.
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”
Once I realized I couldn’t fix the situation, I started calling others for help to see if we could work out any solutions to the problem.
I honestly don’t remember when—if at all—I stopped trying to fix the problem and turned to God. But God already had the solution.
Not long after I realized we were out of options, a bus pulled over in front of us. It turned out to be a church from our area heading to the same event we were going to, with just enough room for our people and our stuff.
At the same time, one of the people we were with said they had AAA and we could use it to have our van towed.
God had provided the solutions for my impossible problem. I wish I could say I was seeking them, though.
So again, how do you respond when presented with the impossible?
Scripture makes it clear that our response in all situations should be to stop trying to fix things on our own and turn to God for guidance.
I think we can gain some insight into how to deal with the impossible by looking at a few lyrics and scriptures from one of our songs this Sunday, “Battle Belongs” by Phil Wickham.
First: Focus on Jesus, Not Fear
“There’s nothing to fear now, for I am safe with You.”
2 Timothy 1:7
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
I can’t help but think of Peter getting out of the boat to walk on water with Jesus (Matthew 14:22–33). He was brave and stepped out of the boat, and for a moment he walked on water. But then he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the storm around him—that’s when he began to sink.
In the midst of our trials, we need to focus more on Christ than on our fears.
Second: Add God to the Equation
“And every fear I lay at Your feet, I’ll sing through the night—O God, the battle belongs to You.”
Philippians 4:6–7
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
I have a tendency to think I have the power to fix my problems on my own. The reality is—I don’t. And even if I could, I shouldn’t.
Peace in the midst of any situation is only possible when we take our needs to God and rest in His presence and provision.
Third: Remember the Power of God
“For Jesus, there’s nothing impossible for You.”
Matthew 19:26
“But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”
Many times, at least for me, my anxiety or fear in a situation comes from the feeling that I can’t fix it. It’s beyond my abilities.
But we need to remind ourselves that while something may be beyond our abilities, nothing is beyond God’s ability.
Fourth: Rest in His Presence
“Almighty Fortress, You go before us. Nothing can stand against the power of our God.”
Psalm 46:1–3
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved
The situation may not work out exactly as we would have drawn it up. Sometimes solutions come immediately, like in my story, and sometimes God works them out over time. But God is always our refuge and strength in times of trouble.
When facing the impossible, the question really isn’t will God work in this situation? It’s do we trust God to work things out according to His will—and trust that those things will be for our good?
We often fall into the trap of thinking we are the best ones to call the shots in our lives, when in reality, nothing could be further from the truth.
Proverbs 16:9
“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
This week, let’s take time to pause—regardless of what situations lie in front of us—and seek God’s will, His presence, and His provision.
- Edward W. Klink III, John, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), Kindle loc. 520 ↩︎