Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a good word about our Abba daddy.

Yep, our Abba heavenly Father daddy who is totally invested in the spiritual battles that His children face every day. God is a warrior: a daddy-warrior who fights hard on behalf of His children, you and me, and when I am in a tough spiritual battle, mostly against those irksome demons that harass me constantly—you know, harassing spirits of discouragement, lying spirits, or even battling against false guilt over past sins that I know have been forgiven and forgotten. When those battles start raging in my heart, when the spiritual bullets start zinging by me, I appeal to my Abba-daddy-heavenly-father-warrior. I know the enemy will try to divide and conquer; he will try to separate me from Jesus, tempting me to think that God is off somewhere listening to the prayers of more obedient Christians, or that he is busy taking care of someone else’s separation or divorce, or that God is off in the Middle East fulfilling biblical prophecy, or whatever. But I know well enough to even recognize that is a lie.

And so… I’ll come up with Psalm 143 and pray insistently, “Oh Lord, in your mercy put an end to my haters, and send destruction on all those who are against my soul; for I am your servant.” Man, I love that verse! Because the psalmist is not just talking about the Philistines, the Amalekites or the Midianites; no, he’s talking about the father of all those pagan nations, Satan himself – Satan and his miserable minions.

And it’s so comforting, so encouraging, so incredibly reassuring that our heavenly Father, our daddy-warrior immediately jumps right in the ring with us when we cry out to Him. All we need to do is cry out, and he’s going before us, he’s landing a knockout blow to the enemy. And why wouldn’t he? He’s the Father of all compassion: your Father, your daddy, your defender. And just listen to the way He loves you and fights for you when you are discouraged and feeling overwhelmed. In Zechariah chapter 2, verses 8 and 9 (I love this) God says to you, "… whoever touches you touches the apple of the My eye. I will surely raise My hand against them." (Love that). The New Living Translation states it as "anyone who harms you, harms My most precious possession. I will raise My fist to crush them." And here’s the way the Message paraphrase puts it: God says "anyone who hits you, hits me - bloodies my nose, and blackens my eye, they will be stripped down and thrown out." Whoa! What a picture of fierce loyalty and protection. God is the One who fights every battle for you. You are loved beyond measure, and you never have to face a battle alone.

Look, you and I both know that the spiritual battle is getting harder and hotter; it’s getting fiercer and more serious. It sometimes feels like all the forces of darkness are marshaled against you, doesn’t it? And yes, you fall easily for the trap that tells you God is off somewhere, He’s uncaring, and He’s not that interested in your struggles. Well, as you fight against guilt or temptation, or a complaining spirit or selfishness; as you battle against pride or self-importance; as you fight the good fight – and a fight against any sin is a good fight – God’s got His gloves on, because you are the apple of His eye and any dark demon that tries to raise its hand against you, His most precious possession, is going to feel the knockout blow from your Heavenly Father. Because the God of Zechariah, your God, is a warrior, a warrior who loves to obliterate your adversary. So just count on Him!