When Will it End?
“With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. (34) He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great. You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way. (39) You armed me with strength for the battle; you humbled my adversaries before me. ”
One question that repeatedly flows through my head (I try not to entertain it as much anymore) is "Will this always be my life?" It usually pops up when I'm in a flare, or when medications are becoming less effective. It’s, at its purest form, an existential question, and quite honestly it’s one we all have to at least attempt to answer at some point in order to move forward with our lives (even if it’s not about illness, there is, in my non-philosopher opinion, some aspect of our lives that we have to reconcile living with for the rest of our lives).
Living with a chronic illness can feel like a never-ending battle. The good times always seem shorter than the fighting times. It's a cycle that exhausts people to their last ounces of strength and perseverance. So, the most recent time the above question confronted me, I decided to research the Bible for an example of a seemingly never-ending war. Surprisingly, I found that the best example is one which we rarely look at as one comprehensive war, but rather as individual battles. This would be the Israelites against the Philistines. There are at least 7 significant battles between the Israelites found in the Bible (we can assume that there were more battles, whether they were smaller or undocumented).
There is an incredible amount of parallels to be made between the war(s) involving the Israelites and Philistines and the war we are fighting in our bodies. For this post, I want to spend some time going through a couple of general parallels (and I may present a second part that looks at some individual battles next week). As an aside, if you’re interested, at the bottom of the page, I’ve listed the resources I used as part of my research on this topic.
It’s all about territory.
It all began when the Israelites entered the Promised Land. A portion of the land God promised to His people was under the control of the Philistines (Joshua 13:1-3). From then on, the fight was almost always to reclaim territory (though pride and cultural influences played a part, too). And that’s really what’s going on in our bodies, too. There’s an ongoing back-and-forth in the war for control. When our illnesses flare, we go into battle, determined to assert our power over symptoms.
Like the Promised Land, our bodies are given to us from God. The Bible tells us we are to deem our bodies as temples (1 Cor 6:19). The Temples in Biblical times were always susceptible to attacks by the enemy, because they were epicenters of cities and culture, and because they contained the most precious and important goods (like the Ark of the Covenant). Likewise, our bodies are often attacked because of their value to the Kingdom of God on Earth.
Israel didn’t win all of the battles.
All of Israel’s wins and losses can be attributed to one factor: the presence of God. Whether it was the absence of the Ark, the presence of false gods, or the reliance on self, God’s proximity, or lack thereof, determined the outcome.
Most of us can look back and see the difference between the times we kept Him in the middle of our fights and when we solely looked to other sources of help. In my experience, it’s frustrating and exhausting to fight without God. His grace really is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). I can honestly say that I always lose in some aspect if I do not stay connected to God during my battles.
Some battles were won on account of individuals, others were won with armies.
Two of the most well-known battles in the Bible are between an individual and the Philistines. Samson defeated one-thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey (Judges 15:14-15). David made the Philistines flee when he defeated their top fighter, Goliath, with one stone (1 Samuel 17:48-50).
In our battles with our illnesses, there will be times when we fight single-handedly. There will be other battles where we feel supported and have others fighting with us. Yet again, the outcome is determined by the nearness of God. Samson won via the “Spirit of the Lord [coming] powerfully upon him.” (Judges 15:14b) David won standing on his confidence in God as his protector and rescuer (1 Samuel 17:34-37). This is our proof that God-given victory is not determined by number or size, but rather His position in the eyes of the fighter.
The battles end with Jesus Christ:
The struggle between God and His chosen people, good and evil, divine and self, ended with the coming, death, and ascension of Jesus Christ. All was conquered through the cross - sacrifices through high priests were no longer needed to ensure victory, and defeat was no longer a product of an angry and disappointed God.
We do not read anymore about the Philistines after their defeat by King Hezekiah and his army. But we know that through Jesus, their offspring became eligible to join the Kingdom of God through adoption to sonship (Ephesians 1:5). We were adopted too when we put or belief in Jesus Christ, and that adoption comes with benefits. We have Jesus interceding for us - petitioning God to fight for us through grace and mercy. We have the gift of the Holy Spirit, guiding us through our battles. We have access to miracles - supernatural healing and strength. And most importantly, we have a promised victory in the war. We may lose some battles, and we may not see how any of this could turn out with us on top, but we have the promise that one day we will sit as victors in heaven.
Jesus won the war for us. But we still have to face the battles. We “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) We may not know when it will all end for us, but we can grab a hold of what will be at the end for us if we continue to put God at the forefront.
Resources:
Zondervan Study Bible (NIV), 2015
https://constantlyreforming.wordpress.com/every-battle-in-the-bible/
https://www.gotquestions.org/amp/Israel-Philistines.html
https://dailyhistory.org/Why_Were_the_Philistines_and_Israelites_Enemies%3F
https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/8/4/1