(part 1 of "How To Fight Your Battles"
This series has been on my heart for just about a year. I always try to do a song/worship series from time to time as there are always new songs that come out and touch my heart in new ways. This series that we are starting today I had planned to do a few different times over the past year. But it never felt like it was the right time. God had different plans and I have learned over the years that it is better to go with God’s plans because God determines our steps (Proverbs 16:9, NLT) so His plans always prevail.
So, I originally had this series planned for last May, but God nudged me in a different direction. Then the idea came back around and I planned it for the fall, but God changed plans again. But I was recently sitting in a church service and one of the worship leaders of my church was telling a story via a video and he said this:
“I’m still amazed at the power of music. It’s fascinating because for so many of us.. it’s a really emotional experience. I want people to know that when they are listening to music and they’re moved by it that God is with them. When the music stirs you and moves you, makes you cry and makes you laugh somehow I really believe that God is with us in those moments. It’s a way that He’s saying ‘I feel it. I understand what life is.’ I think that’s what music was meant to do.” - Don
After sitting in that special moment, I felt God give me a nudge that it was time to do the series. You see, God had always planned it for this time and the series wasn’t ready last year or this past fall. God knew exactly where He wanted to focus on this idea of music. God knew that I was going to be in that space, hear those words from Don and that it was going to move me in this way.
Music has always been something special for me. I am by no means a heavy music listener. But I go through my times where music is a big part of my life. Music helps me through seasons of life. I am sure that you are the same way. Now while all genres of music can help us through emotions, there is one that I hold close to me.
Worship music.
While, other genres of music tap my emotions and help me process the emotions that I am trying to deal with, worship music helps draw me back to the source that matters most - God. In this series, we will be looking at some of the songs that have helped me fight my battles and remind me of who God is.
The first song that I want us to look at together is “Surrounded (Fight My Battles)” by Michael W. Smith. This song is the song that the series is based on because it calls us to a position of worshipping God as a way to fight our battles. Here are the lyrics to the song:
“This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
This is how I fight my battles
It may look like I'm surrounded
But I'm surrounded by You
It may look like I'm surrounded
But I'm surrounded by You
It may look like I'm surrounded
But I'm surrounded by You
It may look like I'm surrounded
But I'm surrounded by You” [1]
The song has a double meaning for me.
First, we can fight our battles by worshipping God Almighty. This song is the two paragraphs above repeated 3 times. But what this song does is draw you in to feel God’s presence and that He’s fighting your battles. This part of the song calls us to be still and be in the presence of God. I am reminded of the verse in Exodus:
“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” - Exodus 14:14 NIV
The second thing that this song reminds me of is that God is always there and that He’s bigger than my problems. We can feel like we see are surrounded by all the battles that we face in life and we can forget that God surrounds all of our battles. I am reminded of the Israelite people in the book of Exodus. In Exodus 14, they are surrounded by the Red Sea behind them and the Egyptian army in front of them. They had have felt surrounded. But that is when God told Moses to tell the people “The Lord will fight for you...” (Exodus 14:14). Even though they felt surrounded, God was trying to tell them that He was surrounding them too. Just like He does with us and our battles. God surrounds what is surrounding us!
This is what I love about the message in this song. The lyrics of the song invite us to let God fight our battles for us and offers the reminder that God is bigger than our problems and He is always there for us. He is always fighting for us and He is always with us.
[1] “Surrounded (Fight My Battles)” by Michael W. Smith, 2018
This post references the lyrics of a song. The meaning of the lyrics and the song in this post is my own interpretation
This post references Exodus 14, please read for more details of the story.
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