The Open Heavens Devotional for Sunday, March 8, 2026, written by Enoch Adejare Adeboye, delivers a powerful message titled “He Can Fight For or Against You.” The devotional teaches that life is full of spiritual battles, and the most important factor in determining victory or failure is whether God is fighting for you or against you.

The memory verse from Psalm 37:5 instructs believers to commit their ways to the Lord and trust in Him. When people surrender their plans to God and rely on His guidance, He ensures that their plans succeed. However, when people depend solely on their own wisdom and strength, they risk standing in opposition to God.

The devotional explains that many people struggle through life fighting battles they do not fully understand. According to Ephesians 6:12, believers wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces. Because of this reality, success in life is not determined only by human ability but by divine support.

A key example from Scripture is found in Exodus 14:21–28, where God fought on behalf of the Israelites. When the children of Israel were trapped between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army, escape seemed impossible. Yet God miraculously parted the sea, allowing His people to cross on dry ground. When the Egyptian army attempted to pursue them, God fought against them by removing the wheels of their chariots and causing the waters to return upon them. Not one of their enemies survived.

This story clearly demonstrates that when God fights for someone, victory is guaranteed, regardless of how impossible the situation appears. However, the devotional warns that the opposite is also true—when God fights against a person, failure becomes inevitable.

The message also highlights another biblical example when the Philistines captured the Ark of God and placed it in the temple of their idol Dagon. By the next morning, their idol had fallen face down before the Ark of the Lord. When they set it upright again, it fell once more and was broken. This showed that no power can stand when God Himself rises to fight against someone.

According to the devotional, pride and sin are two major factors that can turn God into an opponent. Scripture teaches in James 4:6 that God resists the proud. Pride often appears when people believe they can succeed without God’s help. Choosing dishonest shortcuts, lying, cheating, manipulating others, or ignoring God’s instructions can also place a person on the wrong side of God’s favor.

The devotional further reminds believers that even when dishonest success appears to work temporarily, it will never last because God does not support unrighteousness.

On the other hand, holiness and obedience position believers for divine support. When a person lives in obedience to God, He becomes their defender and protector. A powerful example of this is the story of Daniel, who remained faithful to God even when his enemies plotted against him. Because God fought for Daniel, the lions could not harm him.

Another example mentioned is the story of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20, where three enemy armies gathered to attack Judah. Instead of relying on military strength, Jehoshaphat sought God through prayer and praise. God responded by causing confusion among the enemy armies until they destroyed one another. This victory proved that when God fights for His people, they do not need to depend solely on human strength.

Ultimately, this devotional teaches that the greatest danger in life is not opposition from people but opposition from God Himself. The key to victory in life’s battles is to humble ourselves before God, commit our plans to Him, live in holiness, and trust Him completely.

When God fights for you, no enemy can defeat you. But if God stands against someone, no strategy, strength, or wealth can guarantee success.