Zechariah 9:14-17 VICTORY!
With the Lord as their King there is VICTORY! And great rejoicing at that victory. God Himself will give them victory. It is NOT won by their own hands.
This final victory is still to come. It will be when Jesus comes to rule on earth for 1,000 years. The battle before that victory will be bloody and intense. But those on His side will NOT fall. It won’t be a normal war where both sides lose men. Satan and his army will be the only ones falling!
“The Lord of host will protect them, and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones, and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine, and be full like a bowl, drenched like the corners of the altar” (verse 15). Jesus will go ahead of His people in battle. He will be the protection for all those who follow in His wake. He will be their ‘armor’ and protection on every side. Their shouts of victory will shake the earth around them. HE IS THEIR KING and HE HAS COME IN STRENGTH on that day. How could ANYONE not be overcome with JOY?!
When God fights the battle for you, there is NO other possible outcome but victory. In most battles there are casualties on both sides. There are negotiations and concessions made. The victor has the upper hand in the negotiations but, if they don’t want a later revolt, they have to take into consideration the fate of the defeated foe. They have to find a way to ensure lasting peace. When God wins, He doesn’t have to make concessions. What He holds out afterwards is permanent peace. He holds out a way for HIS people’s restoration, WHEN the put themselves FULLY into His hands.
One of the most AMAZING battle stories in the bible, to me, is when God rescued Judah from the hands of the Assyrian soldiers encamped about them. Judah didn’t lift a finger in this battle. What they lifted instead was their prayers to the Lord. In the night, as the army waited outside the walls of Jerusalem, God sent His angel through the camp. When morning came 185,000 Assyrian soldiers lay dead and ALL that they had were spoils for the people to walk into the camp and take. Not ALL of the soldiers were killed that night but those who were left alive had NO desire to fight. They grabbed their skirts and RAN back the way they had come!
If God can fight this effectively, without being physically present, imagine what He can do when He comes face-to-face with the enemy. NOTHING can stand against Him!!!
The battles we fight in our lives, when in His hands, are no less victorious. Sometimes we don’t see the outcome WE would call victory, but HE knows what is BEST and will bring it to pass. We can rest secure in the knowledge that HE is in control.
Father God, YOU are in control. Every ‘battle’ that I face, I want YOU to be front and center. I want YOUR victory, no matter what that looks like. I TRUST YOU with the outcome. Lead me in the way I should walk to achieve YOUR victory. Help my heart to be content with whatever that victory entails. Thank You for the peace with my neighbor! THAT is a victory from You for certain.
