Response Over Reaction: Allowing God in the Battle

In today’s society it seems as if everyone is allowed to be offended except those who openly live for Christ. Whether Christians proclaim the hope, truth, and good news of the Bible in all aspects of their life, or simply allow the doctrines of the Christian faith to dictate the decisions they make in their own lives, they are attacked on all sides by those who rebel against a faith based approach to life. 

These attacks are rooted in a lie about the definition of love and use this new definition to label Christians as bigots who are intolerant and unloving.

At one time, it was considered a loving act to warn

people when they were headed in a direction that would cause them or the people around them harm. (We would never allow a toddler to touch an open flame) True love protects and corrects.

When political correctness was birthed it dictated that we were not to offend anyone for any reason. An indoctrination began to redefine love as accepting and endorsing all forms of evil and immoral behavior and calling them good, while at the same time creating an population who dictates that all good is actually evil. This path has led to much sorrow.

“What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.”, Isaiah 5:20, NLT

After years of passive silence, Christians are realizing the things they never dreamed could happen have now become legalized, endorsed and acceptable behavior. Those things considered evil and sinful now carry the label of good and encouraged and have all been put in place to make sure certain demographics were not offended. 

These actions are offensive to the deepest parts of a Christian’s being and leave believers with no idea how to respond after years of passive silence.

When we have the courage to finally draw a ‘line in the sand’ and say, “This is wrong.”, (Don’t touch the fire because it will burn you.) we are brutally attacked.

Since the majority of Christians have been silent for so many years, these attacks leave us uncertain of what to do as the pressures build. Unless we are grounded in the Word of God, we can easily find ourselves REACTING to the attacks instead of RESPONDING.

Reacting is done on impulse, without thought to consequences or outcome. It is a defensive act that that is typically emotional in nature. Oftentimes it leads us to behave poorly and recklessly. Regret often follows a reaction.

Responding is a planned, thought out decisive act. It is an offensive act that weighs long term effect over immediate concerns and emotions. It is a position of power and leads to a stance of credibility that can create effective change.

As Christians, we must learn to be people of response instead of reaction.

Responding allows time for prayer, and seeking God on how He wants us to move forward. It also allows you to recognize who the enemy is and how best to defeat them.

David was under attack (as people of the Christian faith are today) and instead of reacting to the attacks, he went to the Lord and asked Him; “Should I attack them back?” 

“So David asked God, Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” 1 Chronicles 14:10a, NLT

This pause and pray response, allowed David to gain

the direction that he needed to gain victory over the ones attacking him. During one attack God said go directly and meet them head on and the victory would be his…another time, God instructed him to go fight, but to attack from the rear and the victory would be his.

This example of David responding to the attack after seeking the Lord was key in his victory. 

The beautiful thing about our seeking God in our response to the attacks instead of reacting…

When I react, I and operating on my own power and trying to fight in my own limited abilities. When I wait and respond, I am recognizing the true enemy and allowing God’s power its place in the battle. 

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”, Ephesians 6:12, NLT

We do not have to fight in our own strength and power because the Lord will fight for us.

“For the Lord your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!”, Deuteronomy 20:4, NLT

The Lord will tell us how we are to fight

“So David asked God, Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord replied, “Yes, go ahead. I will hand then over to you.”, ! Chronicles 14:10, NLT

He wont always lead us to fight in the same way we have won in the past.

“But after a while the Philistines returned and raided the valley again. And once again David asked God what to do. “Do not attack them straight on,” God replied. “Instead, circle around behind and attack them neat the poplar trees. When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the poplar trees, go out and attack! That will be the signal that God is moving ahead of you to strike down the Philistine army.”, 1 Chronicles 14:13-15, NLT

The Lord will Respond on our behalf as we move past reaction and ask for His help.

“The Lord says, “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help. I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ to a nation that did not call on my name.”, Isaiah 65:1, NLT