Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 11:9, They said to the messengers who had come, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have deliverance.’” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.
The Spirit of God had come upon Saul, kindling his anger, and prompting him to put forth his plan to help the people of Jabesh-gilead. What I would like us to observe is the confidence with which King Saul sends his message. Why such confidence in such potentially dire circumstances? How could he be so sure that he would have victory in the coming conflict? His confidence was not in his own ability to plan and gather the needed bodies to confront the enemy. His confidence was in knowing that it was God who was going to deliver the enemy and give King Saul and his men the victory. If the king, who had the Spirit “come upon” him, could have such confidence in facing Israel’s enemy, how is it that we, God’s children, who have the Spirit of God indwelling us (1 Corinthians 6:19), should fear and doubt so much when our old enemies, the devils, declare war on us? When troubling times come knocking on our door, we often forget that they first had to get past God to get to us. God is our “problem Filter”. Nothing touches our lives unless God allows it, and even then God is the One who sets the boundaries of those trials (Job 1 & 2). When God allowed Satan to attack Job, He set boundaries that the devil would not cross. Sad commentary to know that even Satan is more obedient than some of us in not crossing boundaries set by God. Nonetheless, when the attacks come, why do we doubt that God can give us the victory? Why do we not face our trials and tribulations with the same confidence that we see here? God did not indwell King Saul. We are His temple. Why then the doubt? Not only do we not need to fear Satan and his devils, but we need not fear man either. We must not forget that regardless of who is standing before us, man is not our enemy. Satan will use people to cause conflict in our lives, yes, even Christians, but people are not our enemies. That is why God calls us to love our enemies (Matthew 5). When we are attacked by people, we lash out at them in return because flesh and blood is what we see physically. However, Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Satan and his demons are in the business of destroying lives and relationships. He sends his minions to go after Christians (1 Peter 5:8-9). He wants to destroy godly homes and local churches. He wants to make us, as a whole, useless for God’s use in spreading the Gospel message. He wants our reputation as Christ followers marred so that the world will see us as hypocrites and reject us when we proclaim the Name of Jesus. Sadly, we give the devils plenty of ammunition by the ungodly way that far too many of us live. When the attacks grow stronger, we begin to doubt and even begin to think that God has abandoned us. We begin to reflect on past sins and allow the devils to convince us that God is punishing us and that He will not rescue us from this overwhelming storm. I want to encourage each of us to stop thinking this way, and instead, fight this fight the way Jesus did when Satan tried to attach Him directly in the wilderness (Matthew 4). Jesus’ weapon against Satan was His Word. God has not left us alone in our everyday battles. Hebrews 13:5-6 clearly states, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ 6 So you may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my Helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” Not only is He always with us and is our Helper, He has also provided us with the armor we need to withstand devilish attacks. Ephesians 6:13-17 instructs us, “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Finally, we are to put on this armor, but we are to fight in the power of God’s might (Ephesians 6:10). How do we do this? We do this be drawing near to God and praying always (Ephesians 6:18). James 4:7-8 promises, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you doubleminded.” The bottom line is that in Christ we have the ultimate victory. We may not see that victory right away, as war is never a pretty thing. It gets bloody and people get hurt and killed. Nonetheless, Jesus promised that in Him we always have the victory, regardless of what it may seem like to us as we go through it. Let us march forward, making sure we have God’s armor securely in place, praying always, and staying close to the One who will fight the battle for us and give us the ultimate victory.
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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