In this series, I take a brief glance of some of the more recent worship songs. Because I’m in my sixties, it would be all too easy to criticize these, but my experience of music is that if you give something time, and let go of your prejudices, you can develop a taste for music.
Way back in 1978, I despised the Saturday Night Fever music because everyone else liked it 😃. Then, a couple of years later, I sneaked in and bought the album secondhand, and I loved it.
So, when it comes to Christian music, I’m looking into the recent most popular songs. Todays, it’s Battle Belongs by Phil Wickham:
Needless to say, this in no way relates to earthly battles. It’s purely metaphorical. You can read the lyrics in the second video or on the worshiponline site. It’s a reminder that we’re not alone when we face the battles that life throws at us. We need to develop the habit of reaching out to God for support. We fight on our knees (prayer). At times, the issues might just go away, but in other cases, God helps us to cope and deal with them. When we trust in him, we have the assurance that he is on our side. For his own reasons, he might allow all sorts of challenges to come our way, but he knows what he is doing. Ultimately, he wants to do us good.
Romans 8:28-32
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Battle Belongs reminds me of an old hymn that Martin Luther wrote – A Mighty fortress is our God. I always find hymns that use military metaphors uplifting.
When you watch movies, such as the Lord of the Rings series, it’s so exhilarating to see battles fought and won. And who doesn’t face battles in life? Scripture teaches that there’s much going on at a spiritual level that we don’t even know about. You can see that in the Book of Revelation. It’s true that it’s full of symbolic language, but these symbols relate to reality. And frequent reference is made to Satan and his armies of demonic angels throughout the New Testament.
Ephesians 6:11–12
“Put on the whole armor of God… For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but… against the spiritual forces of evil.”
1 Peter 5:8
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
Here are some other hymns about spiritual warfare. I’ll list some old ones and some newish hymns.
Hibernia Gospel 
I loved the music video the Battle belongs to the Lord. Thank you for Sharing.
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