this is a fight to the finish

⁴ One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
⁶ And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.

⁷ Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice,
And be gracious to me and answer me.
⁸ When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”
⁹ Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
¹⁰ For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
But the Lord will take me up.

¹¹ Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me in a level path
Because of my foes.
¹² Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
¹³ I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord.

If you have been long in a battle, feeling there is no end to the struggle take some confidence in the words of the psalmist. Declare with him today, The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? When we trust and rest in the Lord, in His light, salvation and defense in our lives there truly is nothing to fear. Jesus assures us in John 16:33  These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

We take confidence in knowing that despite the fact that we must fight these battles in our lives, the outcome is already determined Jesus has overcome. Look again at verses 4 and 5

⁴ One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.

When things seem the darkest, when hopelessness and despair abound, there is no better place for us to be than in the very presence of God. Beholding the beauty of the Lord meditating in His temple. The lines of an old familiar hymn tell us to 

 "Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace."

The psalmist goes on to say that He will lift me up on a rock. This rock is a place of sure footing and a strong foundation for the battle we face. Consider the rock that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 16.

"... upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

The rock of the revelation that Jesus is the Christ gives us authority over the things that come against us. We are called time and time again to persist in prayer, to perservere, to pray without ceasing. There is an important element in fighting our spiritual battles that requires that we continue on until the enemy is fully defeated. Look at this example from 2 Kings 13.

¹⁴ When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” ¹⁵ Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. ¹⁶ Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it, then Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. ¹⁷ He said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” And he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them.” ¹⁸ Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped. ¹⁹ So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.”

It may feel like you have fought and even won this battle several times, but it is important that you continue on to completely defeat the enemy. Take your stand upon the rock of the revelation that Jesus is the Christ. Declare that He is your light and your salvation, He is the defense of your life. Now take those arrows and strike the ground. Strike it 5,6 even 7 times. Then declare, as Jesus did, It Is FINISHED !