Pastor Kent Christmas | The Weary Christian | November 5, 2025

The struggle faced by many believers, leading to weariness and exhaustion in their walk with God, often stems from being tricked by the enemy into fighting battles they were never meant to fight. True Christian freedom and success are found not in personal strength or performance, but in embracing the truth that “The battle is the Lord’s”. God designed believers to live in a state of rest with Christ.

This guide explores how to overcome spiritual exhaustion by trusting in God’s completed victory, relying on Christ’s presence, and adopting a strategy of submission, standing firm, and resting in the face of adversity.

The Foundation of Rest and Divine Provision

The core of a triumphant Christian life is realizing that God created humanity to be at rest.

1. The Promise of “All Things” Working for Good

Believers must know—not merely wonder—that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. This includes the difficulties and challenges encountered.

• If God is for you, then nothing that comes against you will have success.
• The fact that God reverses, redeems, and restores challenging situations often leads to unforeseen blessings.

2. Designed for Rest

When God created Adam in Genesis, Adam was at rest; he did not have to work. Similarly, when believers get saved, they become a new creation and are made to sit with Christ in heavenly places. This posture of sitting represents rest.

The enemy’s purpose, as referenced in Revelation 12, is specifically “to come and to wear out the saints“. However, you cannot battle and rest simultaneously.

The Strategy: Stand Still, Resist, and Submit

Since believers are designed for rest, the New Testament instructs a strategy of resistance rather than direct battle against the devil.

Resistance (Standing) Over Fighting

The Bible nowhere tells believers to fight the devil. Instead, the command is found in James 4:7: “Submit yourself unto God, then resist the devil, and he will flee from you”.

• Resist Defined: The word “resist” literally means to stand. This echoes the instruction in Ephesians regarding the weapons of our warfare: having done all, we are told to “stand, stand”.
• Relationship with the Devil: The relationship with the devil is characterized by standing firm. When you resist the devil, you submit to God, effectively telling the devil, “I’m not running, I’m standing here”.

Submission to God’s Authority

The key to powerful resistance is submission to God. When you submit yourself to the Lord, you are yielding to God’s authority and God’s covering. Whatever God possesses, He protects.

The Command: “Stand Still and See the Salvation of the Lord”

Moses demonstrated this strategy when leading the Israelites, facing the massive Egyptian army. He told the people: “Fear ye not, stand still, see the salvation of the Lord which he will show to you today”.

• Don’t Run: Do not let the devil make you run, because when you abandon your position, the devil takes over that territory.
• Ultimate Victory: Moses declared that if they stood still, the enemy they saw that day, “you shall see them again no more forever”. When you refuse to engage the devil in battle and simply resist, you bring God into the equation.

Why You Must Not Fight Your Own Battles

Believers become weary and worn out because they fight battles that God did not design them to fight. The consequences of fighting in your own strength are consistently defeat.

1. Superiority of the Enemy (in Human Strength)

The sources emphasize that you, in your own strength, are not greater than the devil. The devil is smarter, has more resources, and has been engaged in this warfare for thousands of years.

2. Christ is the True Warrior

The victory is guaranteed because Christ in you is greater than the devil.

• Greater is He: 1 John 4:4 declares: “Greater is he that is in you… than the God that’s in this world”.
• Christ Fights: It is not the individual who fights the battle; it is Christ in you. The battle is not yours.

3. Weapons are Mighty Through God

Believers are in a war, but the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They are mighty “how through God” to the pulling down of strongholds. Strongholds will not come down unless God pulls them down.

Strategies for Activating God’s Intervention

When faced with impossible odds, the strategy is to rest and transfer ownership of the problem to God.

Rest and Trust

When approaching the battle, what God desires is for you to sit down and rest, watching Him take on your enemy. You must hold your ground; if you will stay seated with Christ, God will stand up and fight your battles.

• Jehoshaphat Model: This echoes the strategy given to King Jehoshaphat: “Let not your hearts faint; fear not; do not tremble, neither be ye terrified of them”. God will go with you and fight for you to save you.
• The Battle is God’s: When you encounter situations that are “way above your pay grade,” you tell the Lord, “This is your battle… I belong to you”. This allows God to show you how big He is.

Avoid Compromise and Negotiation

A critical mistake is trying to negotiate or compromise with the enemy for temporary peace. If peace requires compromise, you only have a temporary truce, and the enemy will return with greater force.

• Hold Your Inheritance: What God has given you—your inheritance or “land”—you must hold on to and not give up just to have peace.
• Predetermined Outcome: Every battle that God fights has an already predetermined outcome, and “every instance God wins”.

The Standard is Raised by God

When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Bible says God himself will raise up a standard against it. God will let out a battle cry and defeat the enemy. God is waiting for you to look at Him and say, “I am not fighting this; you fight this”.

Ultimately, if you want to learn how not to be exhausted in your walk, you must understand that your help comes from the Lord, and those who trust in the Lord “cannot be moved”.