The LORD will fight for you. Just...

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Okay, friends. You want to hear something really confusing? (Or really wonderful, if you love words?)

The Bible was not originally written in English, but a few different languages that have been translated into English. So, there's a bit left up for interpretation (literally) and depending on who translates the word and from what language, there can be a few different meanings. 

If you're a "glass half full" kind of person, you may find it fascinating. Each translation is a new opportunity to gain a better, fuller understanding of God's Word! Learning more about what the original translation said and the author's intended meaning can bring a certain richness to the scriptures, I think. 

But what about when you're trying to understand what God is saying to you about a verse that's been on your mind lately... one that you feel He's trying to speak to you through? What if, hypothetically, you looked it up just now via Google, and clicked on BibleHub, and found there are SEVERAL translations of what it means? (Just hypothetically, of course).

"The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

English Standard Version
"The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Berean Study Bible
"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

King James Bible
"The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."

Contemporary English Version
"The LORD will fight for you, and you won't have to do a thing."

You have to admit, there are a lot of varying translations for this one, and they're all similar... yet at the same time, bring distinct things to the table. To me, being silent and being still can be pretty different in practice, right?

The realty is that both are pretty hard for me... and so is staying calm, holding my peace, and "not having to do a thing." Allow me to explain...

Confession time: I'm a try-hard.

You know the type. They give 147% to everything they do, including folding the laundry, writing term papers, and interacting with others. They're oftentimes referred to as "perfectionists" or "suck-ups," racing through life "a mile a minute" and affectionately referred to by the older generation as a "fart in a skillet." (Has anyone else heard this saying before? Or is that just my Granny's saying?)

It's sometimes painfully obvious how hard they're trying... striving hard for perfection, they speed-walk everywhere with purpose and talk wayyyyy to fast to understand and it makes you just want to grab them by the shoulders, look them in the eyes and say "SLOW DOWN for just a MINUTE... PLEASE." 

Maybe you know someone like this. Maybe I'm the someone you know like this. Maybe you're like this, too. 

I try so hard at everything, and I feel like I can't really ever "turn my brain off." It's running on overdrive like basically all the time, similar to like when your computer is working too hard and it starts to overheat and make that fan noise as it tries to cool down. I never feel like I'm able to rest, or be "at peace" about anything, really. My body needs to go, go, go, and when it's not actively moving around doing something, then my brain takes over and gets to work.

I'll lie awake at night and think about all sorts of useless things... what I'm wearing the next day, what's on my agenda, what I'm taking to work with me for lunch... or I'll obsess over stuff that already happened that day, too. Why did I do that? Why didn't I call them back? Why did I say that? That's so embarrassing! You talked wayyyy to much. They think you're weird and there's no way to reverse that. Just try harder tomorrow.

I know it's not God's design for me to be anxious, or for me to worry about anything. I'm trying hard (really hard, because I'm a try-hard, remember?) to take moments where I surrender my thoughts to God and allow Him to take the stress away. The Good News is, He does! I think it's good to hit the "reset button" when we find ourselves drifting away from the peace that comes with faith in Jesus... to turn back to Him, fix our eyes on His goodness, and take a deep breath in His Presence. 

However, I'm finding that there's a huge difference between 1) realizing how hard you're striving and turning to Jesus for peace, and 2) looking back on your past day with shame and regret, and feeling bad about who you are, what you did, or what you said. Then making a resolution to try harder. 

This try-hard culture that is bred from a place of low self-worth is not what God intended. "I messed up so I'll try harder to make up for it tomorrow" is contrary to the Gospel: that it was Jesus who made us righteous and clean before our Father... it was Him that did the work, not us. (For proof of this, check out Ephesians 2:8-9).

For try-hards like me, this is a tough pill to swallow. When I recognize that I am a certain way (for example... that I talk too fast and sometimes talk without thinking, or talk too much in group settings) and then I try to "fix myself" instead of looking to Jesus, I get nowhere. It's debilitating sometimes, too... because no matter how hard I try, I really can't do anything on my own. Apart from Jesus, I can do nothing (John 15:5). You can get caught in this vicious cycle of fighting against your own human nature... whether that's a try-hard human nature, a gossipy human nature, a lazy human nature, a selfish human nature... the list could go on forever. 

In Jesus, I don't have to fight anymore. I think that's what the verse we explored at the beginning really means. It was Moses' words to the Israelites as they were escaping from slavery in Egypt... that God goes before them and will be with them... that He's the one fighting on their behalf. They can just rest in that freedom, because they are His people. 

I am a child of God. That is my identity. I don't have to explain away my humanness by saying, "Oh well! That's just who I am!" because God calls me something else... to be more like Him with every waking moment.

He clothes me in a new identity (Isaiah 61:10).

I am a new creation in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17).

I want to explore what He says about me and allow Him to transform me more and more into His likeness in every passing day. I don't need to feel shame about the times I fall short because God is with me and will use me for His glory... word vomit and all. He is redeeming me for His purposes and it's Him who does the work. I need only to be still.

I will stay calm. I will be silent and hold to peace. I will let Him fight for me.





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