On a trip a few years ago to Alaska, I began to think over my life and to reminisce about the path towards the journey that has bought me this far—by faith. As I began to recollect, I stumbled upon all the things I have had to overcome to get to where I am now in my life. Now I realize that those obstacles were blessings in the midst of my mess, because if it were not for the mess I would not have known that I needed the Savior. I did not always have faith.
There were many dark days when I was all alone with my thoughts. I remember at one point in my life when I was living life with my head hanging down, walking recklessly into a deep valley of despair. I listened to those self-sabotaging thoughts so much that the course of my life had taken a shift and it was spiraling downward, so I built a wall of fear, anxiety, and regrets. But, I had to look up…
LOOK UP...
I know that there are people everywhere with a story of how God helped them to look up. David is a great example. When the enemies of David (the Philistines) came to check on what was up with his apparent success amongst the people, it was primarily because they could see with their eyes and hear with their ears that the favor of God was upon the life of David. They took special note of David’s prosperity, his following, the people that were loyal to him, and the victorious living he was putting forth, but they were not willing to seek the God of whom David was loyal to. David sought God in all his endeavors and the hand of God was upon David for good, even when he messed up. David sought God for direction, insight, support, and to be certain that God would be with him all the way!
LOOK UP...
Not only did David overcome the Philistines by Divine Providence, he overcame all the vexatious neighbors in the community that desired to snuff out the hand of God upon him. You have no idea of how this reminds me of myself, and many of you that are reading this.
There are aggressors in every battle, in every story there is always an opponent and an antagonist that is seeking to be the obstacle to the destined greatness that God has laid out for those that trust Him. Those vexatious neighbors have heard that God has anointed you with great wisdom, power, strength and ability. Therefore, the enemy has sent out those adversaries to crush you and your projects, crush you and your ministry, crush you and your finances, crush you and your business, crush you and anyone connected to you while your vision is in the stage of infancy…
LOOK UP...
I realize that people see where you are now, but they don’t know your story… They don’t know how you were able to arrive at your present destination in one piece with your mind intact. Many things were lost along the way: relationships, friends, money, jobs, possessions! And yet, even though there are many scars and battle wounds that will never disappear, the very fact that scars exist is a testimony of God’s goodness, His faithfulness, His power, strength and abilities on your behalf. I believe it is good that scars exist because the presence of marks reminds us of the goodness of Jesus, and help us to remember that if it was not for the Lord that was on our side we would have lost every battle!
Hallelujah!
The Bible says that as soon as David heard that they were coming (2 Samuel 5:17-19), he went down to the hold so that he could secure his position through prayer and seeking the Lord. David was certain that communication with God would provide an advantage over any vexatious spirit.
David went down to the hold. This posture is reminiscent of bowing down to seek the Lord in prayer and supplication. As a matter of fact, Scripture records that David did nothing until he enquired of the Lord. When David enquired of the Lord, it was two-fold. First, he asked, “Shall I go up?” Secondly, he asked, “Will God deliver this into my hands?”
Have you asked God what to do about those troublesome situations in your life?
Have you asked God about the potential outcome of the concerns in your heart?
David received his answer of beneficial outcomes and that made his praise ONE-DIMENSIONAL! He gave God all credit for his success, He glorified God as the Mighty One that defeats every adversary and subdues every vexation of spirit. Listen, if God desires to use us, to send us, to defend us, to comfort us, to manifest and pour out His love upon us then He will be with us and He will stand by us so that we can overcome any spiritual foe and vexatious occurrences in our lives. We should know that vexatious spirits are sent by the enemy to harass us, to frustrate us, to bring disorder and stress to our lives to the point of nonrecognition as servants of our God.
WE MUST LOOK UP TO GOD, HUMBLE OURSELVES IN PRAYER, AND SEEK GOD FOR DIRECTION.
The enemies and foes that appear at every turn is no match for our God! Hallelujah!
--Jesus is Lord
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