"Don't Wait Til the Battle's Over, Shout Now (Walter Hawkins & Love Center Choir)!!" For years, I heard this statement or some variation of it, while growing up in church. The truth is, while I have heard this said many times and in many different ways, it never resonated with me, until I entered adulthood. Even in adulthood, I never applied it, until battles or struggles (in my mind) seemed to go on forever or simply too long.
Sometimes, we seem to grow so weary while in battle, until we just want it to end. In these times, it seems that the more we battle through, the more our minds and emotions suffer in the process. When this happens, it can be very hard to fix both our minds and mouths to "shout before the battle is over" ; or even to "shout while the battle raging on." I, as well as many people I'm sure, have experienced this many times.
But the more I have become attuned to God, and led by God, even through tears, I have been able to worship while wounded, and praise God while in the pit. I wrote a blog once called, "Familiar Pits" and it was my life for a long time. I would return to or stay in a given pit for an extended period of time because I felt too weak to worship, to damaged to dance, while in it.
While I know sometimes, the battles we face hurt so much that all we really want is for them to end or to stop, it may not seem like it at that time, but they come to mature us, grow us, and position us for what God has in store for our future. Having said that, can I encourage someone today, that if/when you're ready for the battle to end, the very best thing to do is worship while weakened and wounded, dance while damaged, and praise Him while in the pit! Even of these may not make the battle shorter, they will definitely fix our minds and our thoughts while we endure, strengthening us, until the end does come. "For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those rise against me sink under me (Psalm 18:39)."
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