I was doing my makeup (not an everyday event for me) and thinking. I could feel something was eating away at me quietly. For me, when things bother me, they just quietly bang around my head. It takes some time to really figure out what it is.
It is surprising what a bit of quiet can do for the soul, even while putting on makeup. I did figure it out, and the issue turns out to be the less than wise choices a loved one is making and frankly, there is not much I can do but pray.
I would like to just tell them point-blank about the decisions and choices they are making and what I think about them. There are times, when I am invited I can speak up, but generally, they do not ask. To say anything would only burn bridges in my relationship with them.
I confess I was feeling discouraged thinking about this one so very dear to me, then God, with that quiet calm voice, broke into my thoughts. He said” The battle is mine” and that is it. I would love to expound on all that He said, but that was it.
So, I take this loved one and lay them down at the feet of the One who is big enough to intervene and big enough to do in their heart what I have zero power to do.
I love the story of Gideon when God called him and his army into battle. I would love to have been there, at least I think I would have loved to have been there! Gideon was faced with a task that seems insane really. He had to attack the Midianites as God had asked him. He had a massive army which was great in Gideon’s eyes but not God’s. God cut the army down to only 300 men, the rest were all sent home. From our eyes, not the best battle plan! But God wanted Gideon and all of Israel to know that it was Him who won the battle. Gideon and his army just needed to show up. The victory was indeed given. The whole story is in Judges 6-7. if you would like to read it.
God is not resolving this deep concern I have for my loved one today, but He does give me peace knowing that the battle is not mine but His and He is asking me to trust Him in it. So, that is what I am going to do!