Yesterday was July 4th.

We celebrated freedom, our independence.

Fireworks filled the sky as we honored the day. 

IT WAS AWESOME…My wife made the BEST 4th of July food…how does a hotdog taste that dang good ?!

Back to 1776…just because you make a declaration doesn’t mean the WAR is over.

The Revolutionary War didn’t end on July 4, 1776.

It raged on for seven more years…

Declarations may ignite change, 

but they don’t finalize it.

They invite resistance.

They stir opposition.

They demand endurance.

And sometimes…

Even after the war is won, the FIGHT doesn’t stop.

How many of us are still fighting battles that ended years ago.

Still swinging at ghosts…fighting the shadows of things that don’t even live here anymore.

Still trying to win arguments that no longer matter.

Still proving yourself to people who don’t even have a voice in your calling.

Still carrying OFFENSE when God already handed them PEACE.

We end up being JUST like Joshua and the Israelites in Joshua chapters 9–10—

Fighting battles we never had to fight… because we never stopped to ask God first.

The Gibeonites came with a lie… and a clever disguise. 

Because the enemy doesn’t need to kill you if he can talk you into making peace with him(that will PREACH)

The Gibeonites pretended to be travelers from a far-off land, worn-out sandals and moldy bread in hand.

Israel believed the surface story.

They made a treaty and peace with someone they were called to STOMP OUT… 

But they did not inquire of the Lord. (See Joshua 9:14)

It looked right.

It felt wise.

But it ended in unnecessary conflict.

Fighting battles, God never intended for them to fight…

Because of that one decision, Israel got pulled into a war defending people they were never supposed to be aligned with.

Aren’t we the same way?! We make peace with things God told us to destroy? 

We compromise, then commit, and make decisions that cost us more than we ever planned to pay…

But I’m thankful for a God who SHOWS UP ANYHOW!!!

Joshua 10, God—gracious as ever—still showed up.

He even stopped the sun in the sky to help Israel win.

“So the sun stood still…” (Joshua 10:13)

But here’s the part we often SKIP OVER…

That miracle never had to happen.

They could have avoied so much pain…If they had JUST listened to God, and done what He said…

They didnt inquired of the Lord…

They never would’ve needed the supernatural intervention.

They wouldn’t have had to fight at all.

How many battles have we HAD to win, by sheer grace, because we never stopped to ask God if we should even be in the fight?

And that treaty? It didn’t just cause problems in that generation.

Years later, King Saul broke it…and it triggered a national famine.(2 Samuel 21:1–2)

The fallout of unprayed-over decisions doesn’t just end with us…it ends up with our-children!

After the American Revolution, France wanted to pull the U.S. into another war.

Many were ready.

But President Washington said NO.

He didn’t just fight well…

he knew when to stop fighting too!

When he returned to Mount Vernon, after the revolutionary war…he didn’t raise a sword or flag.

He mounted a humble dove…the symbol of peace, the symbol of the Holy Spirit…on the weather vane at the highest point of his home.

That wasn’t JUST decoration.

That was a declaration.

A statement that earned him the title:

“First in war, first in peace.”

He had nothing left to prove… because peace was his posture, not just his prize.

That is how I want to be remembered…

Don’t miss this….

Some fights end up DRAINING us because we mistake PRIDE for PURPOSE…

So maybe today on JULY 5TH 2025…

…you need to ask yourself…

—What battles am I still fighting that God never assigned to me?

—What grudges am I gripping that grace already covered?

—Who am I still trying to impress when Jesus already said, “You’re Mine”?

—What fight am I feeding that’s keeping me from peace?

—And most importantly…

When’s the last time I actually asked God if this fight was even mine?

The 4th was about the fight…

The 5th is about the freedom to walk in peace…

We can declare that too.

Because freedom isn’t just what you break away from…

It’s also what you refuse to be dragged into.

If God is giving you permission to stop fighting,

Don’t waste one more day in a war He’s already won.

Put down your sword.

Lift up your peace.

Welcome to The Day After.

Happy 5th of July. 🕊️

—PZaaa