Stand Strong

So, Judges 3:1-6 just blew me away.

These are the nations that the LORD left in the land to test those Israelites 

who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. 

He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites 

who had no experience in battle. 

Judges 3:1, 2

God purposefully left enemy nations around Israel to teach them warfare. That right there made me pause and think for a moment.

Could it be that that person, that situation, that circumstance that just won't move is actually there on purpose to teach me how to battle? Could the Lord be training me for something I have no experience in?

See, at this point in Judges, the Israelites were experiencing a time of peace. Joshua and his generation had fought the good fight to obtain God's promises, and now their children were reaping the benefits. This generation didn't know anything about fighting. They didn't know anything about war.

So God strategically kept some enemies around to keep His people strong and to make sure that they would stay true to His will.

These people were left to test the Israelites—to see whether they would obey the commands the LORD had given to their ancestors through Moses. 

So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and they intermarried with them. 

Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And the Israelites served their gods.

Judges 3:4-6

The Israelites were tested both physically and spiritually. And they failed both tests.

Instead of pushing out those who directly opposed their God, they married them. Instead of clinging to the one true God who had brought them into their current prosperity, they betrayed Him and began worshipping idols.

Your momma's faith, your daddy's faith, and grandma's faith may have gotten you to your place of peace and prosperity. But God still wants to make sure that you are a strong and faithful warrior for His Kingdom.

Has God left any 'Canaanites' in your territory? Is God trying to train you for battle? Are you being challenged in your beliefs? Have you been tested in your faith?

Don't be like the Israelites and fail the test! As a result of their disobedience, they went from being rulers to servants again. (Judges 3:8)

Hold on to your faith. Stand strong in the face of adversity. Pull out your spiritual weapons and fight the good fight of faith. Don't allow all that you've gained to be lost. Become the strong warrior that God is setting you up to be.

You Have the Victory!

This year our church has declared to be our year of victory. We have been praying, preaching, meditating, and singing victory since January.

As Christians, we have been given the victory through Jesus Christ. Many of us claim our victory, but fewer of us obtain our victory. Why? Because victories are only awarded after a fight, and many of us don't fight the good fight to obtain our victory.

We see the issue before us and claim defeat before we step on the battlefield. Or, we enter into the fray only to lose hope after it seems like we will never win. The devil resists us, and we take his resistance as superiority.

Even though we've been promised the victory, the devil is going to do his very best to keep us from getting the victory. He's going to use every weapon he has to discourage us from fighting. He wants to keep us bound, he wants to keep us down, and he wants to keep us from beating him.

We can't forget that the battle is fixed. We can't forget that we've already won. No matter how strongly the devil resists our advances, we have to remember that greater is God on the inside of us over our enemy! (1 John 4:4) We have to remember that we have the Lord of All assisting us in our fight!

Don't just claim victory this year. Don't allow the devil's resistance to keep you from overpowering him. Your God is stronger, wiser, and better than any imp that crosses your path.

You have the victory!

Now, go out there and fight for it.

Verse of the Day: But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:57, 58