SCRIPTURE READING: MATTHEW 2: 1-18
FOCUS: “And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.” (Matthew 2: 13)
MEMORY VERSE: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10: 16)
In our Focal Scripture, rather than tell Joseph to stay back and fight against Herod, God told him to take his child with his mother, to Egypt and remain there until another instruction is given. Joseph was not going to defeat Herod by putting up a fight; he was going to defeat Herod by not being available for the fight. He won the battle by avoiding it. He won the battle by staying away from it. He won the battle by walking away from it.
Friend, as 2024 makes way for 2025, glean the wisdom of choosing your battles. There are battles to be fought and there are battles to be avoided. There are battles you should simply walk away from. There are battles you should avoid at all cost. There are battles you should literally run away from. There are battles you should have nothing to do with. There are battles you win by being unavailable for them. Choose your battles.
Notice that it was God Himself who ordered Joseph to flee to Egypt with his wife and child. The same God who could defeat anyone He wished to fight, ordered Joseph not to stay back and fight. Sometimes, even when you can win the battle, just avoid it. Even when you can easily crush certain oppositions, just walk away in peace. Do your best to avoid battles that can be avoided, even if you have capacity to win them if a fight breaks out.
You are not the old fighter you used to be. You can’t get into every fight that comes your way. You can’t be part of every conflict anymore. You can’t go head to head with every Herod that shows up. You can’t pick a fight with everyone who seeks to pick a fight with you. You can’t allow people to distract you by pulling you into battles that God would not have you fight. You can’t make the mistake of fighting what God wants you to avoid.
The days of fighting every battle that comes your way, should be over already. Choose your battles. There will be battles to fight, but surely, there are many battles that you should avoid.
FURTHER READING: MATTHEW 10
DECLARATION:
- I receive the wisdom to choose my battles; I will not fight every battle, in Jesus’ name!
