“Don’t You Go Into Another Year Bruised and Battered!”

Lou Coleman

By Lou Coleman

Paul said: “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life…” (1 Timothy 6:12). I don’t know what kind of fight you’ve been putting up in the past year, but the Spirit says you have been so overwhelmed at times that you’ve lost your fight. You’ve become a weak, passive soldier of the Cross – discouraged, wounded, and perplexed; but now it’s high time for you to get back up and fight the good fight of faith. I pray that this message from the Holy Spirit will put the fight back in you – that once more you’ll be fearless against the devil’s weapons.

You know when the prophet Hosea wanted to warn Israel about their cowardly spiritual condition, he reminded them of their father Jacob. The crux of his message was, “You’ve become weak, passive. And now the enemy is over-whelming you! You claim to be Jacob’s seed – but I want to show you how far you’ve strayed from his example. I want to show you how Jacob prevailed – how he had power with God!” He told the Israelites this about Jacob: “He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God: Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;” (Hosea 12:3-4). Hosea’s message to them was very simple: “Here was a man greedy for God, hungry for everything God had for him!” Jacob came out of the womb in a fighting mood, greedy for the blessings of God! Yet it wasn’t the double portion of his father’s wealth that Jacob was after; it wasn’t the promise of the land. No, Jacob wanted something more. He wanted the blessings of God so he could be in the lineage of the Messiah! And he wanted the priestly blessing. This meant not only being priest of the clan – it also meant being able to bless others! [Genesis 27]

I want you to know that Jacob’s hand on Esau’s heel was a powerful statement! It said: “I will not be held by sin’s grip – I am more than a conqueror! I will lay hold of all that is of Satan and resist, fight, and be victorious! I want God’s hand on me!  I want His blessing at any cost.” I tell you Jacob had a made-up mind. He had determined that no one was going to stop him from receiving God’s blessings not even his own brother. I also want you to know that Satan has a plan of destruction for your life and he is not just going to lie down, roll over and let you be what God wants you to be. He is working over-time to distract you and to delay the fulfillment of your promises. He is working over-time to side-line you, to kill, steal and destroy your life [John 10:10]. You need to realize that there are Princes of Persia in the spiritual realm working to prevent you coming into the revelation and reality of your destiny. Therefore, you need to release spiritual warfare and pray. Scripture tells us that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, but demonic powers and principalities. Know your authority and be vigilant about it.

In closing I want you to know that Jacob spent years fighting to get and keep the blessings of God; and that same desire ought to put the fight back in you. Throw off your passive, defeated countenance. Cast aside all feelings of defeat – and stand up and fight! Right now God is saying, “Come on, and fight!” – Because He loves you! He wants you to claim all His blessings. Rise up in faith and lay hold of His promises. Stand up and fight! You have His strength – use it! It is time that you tell the devil to Hell with you and take back what is your. Proclaim the victory that Jesus has already won for you on the cross. I tell you for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Those are the words of the preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes. This is a time for new beginnings, a time to say goodbye to the past year and welcome the new. Don’t you go into another year bruised and battered!

Author: Lou Coleman