“Battle Belongs” by Phil Wickham || Worship With Me #24

Welcome back to my latest music review series, “Worship with Me.” This series introduces you to new worship music that you might have heard before. I aim to connect with you through worship and build your relationship with God in ways you might not have tried.

This week’s worship song is Battle Belongs by Phil Wickham. Like most of you probably have, I came across Phil through the song “This is Amazing Grace.” The energy that he gave off led me to investigate some of his other, more famous songs. I enjoyed what I heard. I got into contemporary worship music through his songs, but it tapered off as the years passed. Then, in 2020, he released this song. We were all stuck at home with the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of us might have been able to leave, but we had to be masked and be socially distant. It was crazy, but this reminded us that the battle we fought/are fighting with the virus still belongs to God. He shares this about the song with freeccm.com:

One of his favorite Bible stories comes from 2 Chronicle 20, where this huge army is gathered to fight the people of God. When they heard them coming, their king, Jehoshaphat, freaks out. They all went to God and said, “We are powerless against this army but our eyes are on you, God. Show us what to do.” God told them what to do and said, “Do not be afraid or dismayed for the battle is not yours, but it is God’s. You will not have to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf.’ A little later in the article, Phil states: “God moved on behalf of His people and God is still moving and battling on behalf of his people.” (Partial paraphrase from https://freeccm.com/2020/09/15/behind-the-song-phil-wickham-shares-the-heart-behind-his-song/)

It’s genuinely what the song is about. We are afraid of the pandemic and its consequences, and he reminds us to rely on God and watch him fight this battle. It involves following his lead, guidance, and wisdom and seeing his saving grace go to work. It’s powerful. Listen to this verse:

When all I see is the battle, You see my victory

When all I see is the mountain, You see a mountain moved

And as I walk through the shadow, Your love surrounds me

There’s nothing to fear now, for I am safe with You

It’s easy to see the battles, the frustrations, and the chaos of life and get blinded by them. We think there’s nothing but that darkness on the other side of the battle. God doesn’t see that. We don’t see what God sees. We see the battle, but God sees the victory already. We see the mountain stuck in place, but God sees the mountain moving with ease. What’s the difference between the two visions? Faith. We must believe that God will give us the strength, courage, wisdom, or whatever we need to defeat the opposition. He closes this verse with Psalm 23, the perfect reminder that the Lord is on your side. Listen to these words:

1            The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

2            He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.

3            He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

4            Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect me and comfort me.

5            You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.

6            Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

God provides us rest and strength. God protects and comforts us in the dark times. God anoints us. There’s nothing to fear when we fight our battles alongside God. What we need to do is to have a godly vision of how the battles will go. Ask God to give you sight as he sees, and allow his guidance to guide you to the victory he has promised. How do you ask this question? The chorus gives us an answer:

So when I fight, I’ll fight on my knees

With my hands lifted high

Oh God, the battle belongs to You

And every fear I lay at Your feet

I’ll sing through the night

Oh God, the battle belongs to You

Our fight begins on our knees, in a posture of prayer and surrender. The battle is not for us but for God to fight. He might use us to help fight this fight, but the vision, strength, and courage to fight comes from surrendering our battles to him. Laying our fears, concerns, worries, and anxieties at the cross takes the weight of the battle off our shoulders. God then takes them away from us and returns with the Armor of God to help us fight. The time in between is when we can sing and feel at peace. There are two stories to share with you that support this. We first pick up in Acts 16:22-26 (NIV), which says:

22          The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods.

23          After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.

24          When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25          About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

26          Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chain came loose.

They were going off to pray and met an enslaved woman who had an evil spirit that made her a fortune teller and made her enslaver a lot of money. She was harassing them, and Paul commanded that the spirit be released through the power of Christ. When that happened, they were brought before authorities, stripped, beaten, flogged, and jailed. We’d think they’d be ready to give up their religion or religious practices afterward. Yet, their response: pray and worship. Look at the power of what their response did. That same spiritual experience can happen to us in ways that God knows will benefit us in the season we’re walking in.

Next, I want to share with you Ephesians 6:10-18 to close this review:

10          Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

11          Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

12          For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, and against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

13          Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

14          Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

15          and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

16          In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

17          Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

18          And pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

God’s fight might lead you to put on this armor to battle with him against the evil forces of the world. Keep the truth of God’s teaching close, and let it secure you at your core. Let God’s righteousness penetrate your heart so you can do right with your neighbor, regardless of how wrong they treat you. Be ready to embrace the peace that surpasses anything we can understand. While things feel bleak, protect yourself with a strong faith in God. You are saved, chosen, and loved; those are things to not forget. Fight these battles with the ultimate weapon, God’s teaching, in the Bible. Typically, I’d end the discussion about the Armor of God here. However, the spirit gave me a revelation to add verse 18.

Pray constantly, at all times, with all kinds of prayers and requests. Be alert and pray for those around you. I know of a handful of times I’d be out walking and see someone arguing, someone who’s sad, someone who’s speeding, and think: “Lord, be with them.” Prayer is the ultimate weapon to fight against the spirit of evil. The battle belongs to God; we are here to fight as he commands. What I haven’t said, and my closing words for you to wrestle with: God fights the battle, and we can be called to sit down. We can be called to wait. We can be called to move forward. We might not always be active in the fight, but we will always have trust and faith that God will fight this on our behalf.