You are in a battle whether you know it or not, whether you like it nor not, whether you want it or not. Everyday that we arise in the morning the fight begins. The great news is that you get to choose whether you will be victorious or be a victim. That’s right…it’s not luck, happenstance, or chance that some are victorious and some are not. You literally can choose how the fight ends.

How can you choose? By choosing to declare the goodness and the grace of God every waking moment. How you approach each day will determine how well the fight goes. Check out what God said in Joel 3:9-10

9 Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for war!
Wake up the mighty men,
Let all the men of war draw near,
Let them come up.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’”

Let’s break this down:

Prepare For War…

This is a blatant encouragement that there is a fight-a-comin’. God wants us to prepare for our fights by being mentally, physically, and spiritually ready. This means that you need to prepare yourself by being trained up and ready to go. Declare each morning that you are victorious and no weapon formed against you will stand.

Wake Up The Mighty Men…

This is talking about you…WAKE UP! We have to get out of our spiritual slumber and discouragement and be alert. Peter told us to be alert and sober because the Devil, our advisory, is roaming around like a lion seeking someone to devour. We can’t allow ourselves to become spiritually numb by intoxicating ourself with things that don’t matter. Wake up is a call to action; for your life to be purposeful.

Let All The Men Of War Draw Near…

This is a call to surround ourselves in community with other like-minded believers. If you want to be strong, get around strong people. Make sure you are spending time with those that will pour into you and challenge you. If your friends are pulling you down, get some new friends. This doesn’t mean to isolate yourself from “negative people,” but you do need to insulate yourself from them.

Let Them Come Up…

Coming up is about going to a new level. If you want to be victorious you have to rise up to a new level of thinking, a new level of believing, a new level of courage. Don’t retreat to what only you know, step out into higher ground. This means you have to get out of your comfort zone if you want to experience more!

Beat Your Plowshares Into Swords And Your Pruning Hooks Into Spears…

Stop waiting for everything to be perfect and use WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE. God commanded the people to take what they had and use it. God will always take what you have and supernaturally grow it into something amazing, but you have to be willing to use what you have. These simple farming tools the people had were not weapons, but they turned them into mighty weapons. God has given you skills, abilities, and opportunities, stop saying you don’t have what it takes. Rather take what you have and use it.

Let The Weak Say, “I am Strong.”

This is my favorite line. How you talk about yourself will determine how you live. You reveal your level of faith by the way you talk about your situations. I love this line…”let the weak.” Did you hear that? They believed they were weak, but God said to declare, “I am strong.” Why were they strong? Because God’s supernatural power was working through them. Stop saying you are weak, and start declaring, by faith, that you are strong in the Lord. You can be victorious and not a victim. You can do that thing that God put in your heart to do. You do have the skill and ability to live at a higher level.

Get ready for battle everyday by using these tips straight from God’s Word!