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The War Within
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We talk about being sinner and saint, but how often do we stop and think about that war going on within us? This chapter puts that battle on full display. The Israelites had been pulled away from God before by the Midianites. It was easy to fall prey to those temptations of desire, even for God’s people.
The fear of missing out (or FOMO) is very real these days. When you turn on the TV, you are bombarded with images of the “ideal life,” and social media makes it super easy to see what others have. Before you know it, you begin to question why they have it and you don’t and what other things are you missing out on. Marketing gurus thrive on finding ways to help you question your life and think about what would make it better. These questions can cause us mental struggle, and in turn, we can act quickly to find a fix for our feelings of missing out.
This war within translates throughout time, meaning every generation has experienced it. The people in Bible times didn’t need technology to create these feelings, they came as a part of human nature, as the Israelites felt they were missing out on something the Midianites had. This created doubt in the Israelites, causing them to question God and His provision and turn on Him. That is why in this chapter of Numbers, God is eliminating Midian, even the children, to protect His people from those temptations.
I’ve seen time and time again that there are 3 key steps in winning the war within: 1) learn the truth, 2) reprogram your subconscious, and 3) eliminate the temptation. You can use any tempting, sinful habit to see how these 3 steps apply, but I will walk you through it using sarcasm. Some of you may be shocked to learn I won “Most Sarcastic” in high school. The very basic definition of sarcasm is saying the opposite of what you want to say, but if you look further it also means something designed to cut or cause pain. For me, I liked the way others responded when I used sarcasm. A sarcastic comment delivered at the right time could draw the attention of many around me. I liked the power of those words. The truth is, I was hurting the people to whom I would make those comments, and as a relational person, I knew it was not something I wanted to continue doing. The problem was I had done it so often that it had become habit. I had to retrain my subconscious, reminding myself that these comments hurt others. My temptation was to think that sarcasm – carefully crafted – was still ok, but the definition—the truth—told me otherwise. Finally, I had to work on eliminating it altogether. Elimination was the only way to be the caring person I wanted to be.
In our text for today, it might be hard for us not to feel sorry for the Midianites, especially the children, unless we focus on the truths. Truth: Midian children were trained to hate the Israelites. Truth: The Midian King tried to convince Baalam to curse, and thus kill, the Israelites. Truth: What Israel had with God was much better than anything Midian had (they just had to recognize it). Israel needed to retrain their thoughts regarding the Midianites, and God said the only way to do that was to eliminate them, even the children.
Sometimes it is hard to connect with a story like this when war is not part of our lives here in the U.S. But we are constantly fighting a war against the bad habits and sins we have. The devil is always looking for new ways to tell us we are missing out. First we can come to God and ask for His forgiveness, and secondly, we pray the Holy Spirit would help us with the practical steps of learning the truth, retraining our subconscious, and eliminating the temptation all together.
I encourage you to take time and read Numbers 31 and look for Israel’s struggle as God was helping them to eliminate a challenge they had. Then, take a minute and think about the war within you.
What is your toughest temptation right now?
What is the truth about it?
Speak the truth to your subconscious.
Pray that God will help eliminate the temptation from your life.
Jesus, we constantly are fighting new battles. Like the Israelites, our attention can be drawn away from You. We pray You would help us to confess the sins we struggle with. We pray You would help us to learn the truth and eliminate those sins from our lives. Amen.
God’s Peace,
PW
The fear of missing out (or FOMO) is very real these days. When you turn on the TV, you are bombarded with images of the “ideal life,” and social media makes it super easy to see what others have. Before you know it, you begin to question why they have it and you don’t and what other things are you missing out on. Marketing gurus thrive on finding ways to help you question your life and think about what would make it better. These questions can cause us mental struggle, and in turn, we can act quickly to find a fix for our feelings of missing out.
This war within translates throughout time, meaning every generation has experienced it. The people in Bible times didn’t need technology to create these feelings, they came as a part of human nature, as the Israelites felt they were missing out on something the Midianites had. This created doubt in the Israelites, causing them to question God and His provision and turn on Him. That is why in this chapter of Numbers, God is eliminating Midian, even the children, to protect His people from those temptations.
I’ve seen time and time again that there are 3 key steps in winning the war within: 1) learn the truth, 2) reprogram your subconscious, and 3) eliminate the temptation. You can use any tempting, sinful habit to see how these 3 steps apply, but I will walk you through it using sarcasm. Some of you may be shocked to learn I won “Most Sarcastic” in high school. The very basic definition of sarcasm is saying the opposite of what you want to say, but if you look further it also means something designed to cut or cause pain. For me, I liked the way others responded when I used sarcasm. A sarcastic comment delivered at the right time could draw the attention of many around me. I liked the power of those words. The truth is, I was hurting the people to whom I would make those comments, and as a relational person, I knew it was not something I wanted to continue doing. The problem was I had done it so often that it had become habit. I had to retrain my subconscious, reminding myself that these comments hurt others. My temptation was to think that sarcasm – carefully crafted – was still ok, but the definition—the truth—told me otherwise. Finally, I had to work on eliminating it altogether. Elimination was the only way to be the caring person I wanted to be.
In our text for today, it might be hard for us not to feel sorry for the Midianites, especially the children, unless we focus on the truths. Truth: Midian children were trained to hate the Israelites. Truth: The Midian King tried to convince Baalam to curse, and thus kill, the Israelites. Truth: What Israel had with God was much better than anything Midian had (they just had to recognize it). Israel needed to retrain their thoughts regarding the Midianites, and God said the only way to do that was to eliminate them, even the children.
Sometimes it is hard to connect with a story like this when war is not part of our lives here in the U.S. But we are constantly fighting a war against the bad habits and sins we have. The devil is always looking for new ways to tell us we are missing out. First we can come to God and ask for His forgiveness, and secondly, we pray the Holy Spirit would help us with the practical steps of learning the truth, retraining our subconscious, and eliminating the temptation all together.
I encourage you to take time and read Numbers 31 and look for Israel’s struggle as God was helping them to eliminate a challenge they had. Then, take a minute and think about the war within you.
What is your toughest temptation right now?
What is the truth about it?
Speak the truth to your subconscious.
Pray that God will help eliminate the temptation from your life.
Jesus, we constantly are fighting new battles. Like the Israelites, our attention can be drawn away from You. We pray You would help us to confess the sins we struggle with. We pray You would help us to learn the truth and eliminate those sins from our lives. Amen.
God’s Peace,
PW
