Biblical Answers for Conflict and Strife
OVERCOMING
STRIFE THROUGH FAITH
Strife and contention destroy many marriages and relationships.
They usually result from envy and competition, which stem from our
attempts to meet our needs for significance through the flesh.
1. When strife and contentions come,
everyone wants to hide. They are usually the result of the evil
that occurs when people attempt to get their needs met at the expense of
others.
Jud 6:1. And the children of Israel did evil
in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of
Midian seven years. 2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against
Israel: [and] because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the
dens which [are] in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
2. Strife and contention will
destroy our increase and the sustenance of life.
Jud 6:3 And [so] it was, when Israel had
sown, that the Midianites (Strife) came up, and the Amalekites (the flesh),
and the children of the east, even they came up against them;
3. When strife comes, it
multiplies and brings many other problems with it. It
eventually impoverishes all that it touches.
Jud 6:5 For they came up with their cattle
and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; [for] both
they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to
destroy it.
Jas 3:16 For where envying and strife is,
there is confusion and every evil work.
4. Strife results from struggles for
prominence and from disobeying God. The Israelites were
worshipping the gods of the Amorites, which stand for prominence.
Jud 6:10 And I said unto you, I [am] the LORD
your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye
have not obeyed my voice.
5. Many times we give up, blame God for
not helping and just try to hide from the strife in our lives. Oak
trees stand for bitterness of death. Ophrah means, “fawn.” Joash
means, “given by God.” Abinezer means, “my father is help” or “will
meet my needs.” Gideon means “feller, hewer or warrior.”
Consequently, I believe this verse is trying to tell us that where there
should have been new life (fawn) given by God to provide for his needs, even
Gideon, the warrior, was hiding to avoid the destruction that strife brings.
Jud 6:11. And there came an angel of the
LORD, and sat under an oak which [was] in Ophrah, that [pertained] unto
Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the
winepress, to hide [it] from the Midianites.
6. God sees us as capable of
beating strife and contention in our lives with His help.
Jud 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared
unto him, and said unto him, The LORD [is] with thee, thou mighty man of
valour.
7. God wants us to do something
about it.
Jud 6:14 And the LORD looked upon him, and
said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the
Midianites: have not I sent thee?
8. Winning over strife will
require a sacrifice on our part that is acceptable to God.
Jud 6:19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a
kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a
basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought [it] out unto him under
the oak, and presented [it].
9. Trusting Jesus to meet our
needs is the answer to peace in our lives.
Jud 6:23 And the LORD said unto him, Peace
[be] unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
10. The first step to overcome strife
is that we must tear down the idols in our lives that have been passed down
to us. Most of us have fallen into the trap of competing with
others to get our needs met. It is this whole set of premises
concerning the “rat race” of life that must be thrown down.
Jud 6:25. And it came to pass the same night,
that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the
second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy
father hath, and cut down the grove that [is] by it:
11. When we believe that
everything we need is given by God, our idols lose their power.
Jud 6:31 And Joash (Gideon’s father) said
unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him?
he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst [it is yet]
morning: if he [be] a god, let him plead for himself, because [one] hath
cast down his altar.
12. Strife and the flesh
are allies.
Jud 6:33. Then all the Midianites and the
Amalekites (the flesh) and the children of the east were gathered together,
and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
13. We must declare, according to God’s
Word, that we can overcome strife in our lives. When we decide to
do God’s will and put an end to strife, we will find allies in all those who
truly want peace.
Jud 6:34 But the Spirit of the LORD came upon
Gideon, and he blew a trumpet (usually stands for declaring God’s word); and
Abiezer (my father is help –those who have faith) was gathered after him.
14. To win, we must be convinced
that God will bless what He calls us to do with or without regard to what
others do. God’s methods for overcoming strife require us to do
what is right unilaterally. We must know that He will bless what we do
to stop strife, with or without the cooperation of others. We must
also know that even if we fail, God will still bring an end to strife
through what other people do. Consequently, we are assured of victory
because it is God Who will help us either way.
Jud 6:36 And Gideon said unto God, If thou
wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
15. Fearful
people cannot overcome strife. Fear is the opposite of faith.
Jud 7:3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the
ears of the people, saying, Whosoever [is] fearful and afraid, let him
return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the
people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
16. Those who desperately seek to meet
their needs cannot overcome strife. We must believe that God will
meet our needs in order to love others, in spite of what they do.
Jug 7:5 So he brought down the people unto
the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the
water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself;
likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.
17. We need to speak what God says—that
He has and will meet all our needs in all circumstances. The sword
stands for the Word of God. We need to declare to ourselves what God
says about strife. Confession reflects and strengthens our faith.
Jud 7:16. And he divided the three hundred
men [into] three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with
empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
18. The best time for intervention is after a crisis, when
things are darkest (the middle watch) and when circumstances are changing.
Jud 7:19 So Gideon, and the hundred men that
[were] with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the
middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the
trumpets, and brake the pitchers that [were] in their hands.
19. We must break our pattern of
actions, not take what others do personally and let the light of the Spirit
show forth.
Jud 7:20 And the three companies blew the
trumpets (spoke God’s truth), and brake the pitchers (died to our way of
doing things and taking things personally), and held the lamps in their left
(a new way of doing things) hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to
blow [withal]: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
20. We do not overcome strife by
fighting, but only by doing what is right and standing our ground in faith.
Jud 7:20 And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all
the host ran, and cried, and fled.
21
And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD
set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the
host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, [and] to
the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath. 23. And the
men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of
Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites.
21. We can use our past failures and
negative emotions to set our resolve to never again give in to the
temptation to live in strife. Ephraim again stands for the
emotions of shame from our past life of strife. This shame can be used
to overcome the temptation to have strife even with evil people and the
devil himself.
Jud 7:24 And Gideon sent messengers
throughout all mount Ephraim (double ash heap or shame of the past), saying,
Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto
Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves
together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.
4.
Decide to take a stand, even when others are fearful
after a crisis.
5.
Declare what God says—that He will meet all our needs
and will give us peace.
6.
Change how we act (break the vessel of the flesh).
Use quiet, loving boundaries, not conflict.
7.
Live it! (Show our light) Use love, kindness
and assertiveness.
8.
Stand our ground. If we do what is right
without regard to what others do, God will give us peace.
9. We can use our past failures to
strengthen our resolve to never
again give into the temptation to live in strife.
See also the boundaries, codependency, and abusers topics
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