Posts

When Enemies Take God’s Ground

/5 Comments/in /by

After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. 1 Samuel 10:5a

Scripture is packed full of hidden treasure waiting to be uncovered. I believe 1 Samuel 10:5 holds one of those valuable gems.

At first glance, it doesn’t seem to offer anything too extraordinary. I passed over it many times without much pause.

But my ESV Bible offers literal Hebrew translations to many significant words, and this time something stirred in me to check out the footnote. To my surprise, I read the following words.

Gibeath-elohim means the hill of God.

Let’s try inserting the meaning into the sentence.

After that you shall come to the hill of God, where there is a garrison of the Philistines.

Do you see it, dear one?

I’ll ask the question you should be asking. What in the world is a Philistine garrison doing on the hill of God?

Think it through a moment. A blaspheming enemy of God had been permitted to build a fortified stronghold on God’s property. Enemy troops were dwelling on God’s hill and oppressing God’s people.

How could this possibly happen? How could something that belongs to God come under the control of God’s enemy?

It only happens one way, beloved. The people of God allow it.

Perhaps you’ve believed that God’s possessions could never come under the oppressive rule of His enemy. Scripture disagrees.

In fact God repeatedly entreats His people to draw near and obey His voice so that He may bless them. He also warns of the consequences of neglecting to do so.

“But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you…The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies…” Deuteronomy 28:15, 25

I don’t know about you, but I find that thought unsettling. When God’s people don’t obey Him, He causes our enemies to defeat us.

 I can’t help thinking of James 4:6.

 “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

When we don’t choose to draw near and trust God’s voice, He actually opposes us. And the enemy gets to set up camp on God’s holy hill—with permission to oppress His people.

Isaiah 63:18-19 describes what people who have surrendered God’s ground to the enemy look like.

Your holy people held possession for a little while; our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary. We have become like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called by your name.

Do you see it, dear one? When the adversaries of God are allowed to trample His sanctuary—His dwelling place—the people of God resemble the rest of the world. They are just like those who don’t bear His Name.

Beloved, those words describe much of the present church.

Our wandering from the Word of God has allowed the enemy to set up camp in God’s dwelling place. We call ourselves by His name but bear no distinguishing mark of His presence. The same oppressor who has his way in the world is having his way in the lives of God’s people.

That shouldn’t be, dear one. The people of God should bear the mark of His hand upon us. His blessing should be evident to the world around us.

Do you want to experience the favor of God, dear one? Do you long to know the power of His anointing on your life?

Join Him in His purpose. Get the enemy off His ground by committing to obey His voice. Only then will we see God reveal Himself.

We’ve all experienced wonder at the stories of the Old Testament. We marvel at the miraculous defeat of a giant by a boy with a sling and a stone. We shake our heads at the idea of the fortified walls of Jericho crumbling at the shout of God’s people. We are amazed when considering Gideon’s band of 300 defeating an enemy of thousands.

One common denominator connects those miracles, beloved. Each time a child of God stood in faith to remove an enemy from God’s ground and establish the rightful place of God’s people.

None of God’s heroes were trained in warfare. They didn’t bring special expertise and experience. They simply chose to believe what God said. And their faith released the favor of God—the arm of God—to move on their behalf and accomplish His purpose.

We are desperate to see God move, but we’ve focused on the wrong things. We want God’s favor to promote our own agendas. But God’s favor falls when we join His.

Let’s obey God’s voice and get the enemy off His ground.

A New Kind of Thirst

/1 Comment/in /by

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19

Today marks the final day of 2014.

I wonder, dear one. Was your year what you had hoped it would be? As you look ahead to 2015, are you filled with hopeful expectation? Or do you dread another year approaching with the same disappointments and struggles that plagued you last year?

I’m feeling decidedly hopeful about what may come in 2015. Not because of any resolutions or plans that I’ve made, but because I know a God who keeps His Word.

“Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams.” Isaiah 44:2-4

Here’s why I feel so hopeful, dear one. I’m thirsty.

A longing stirs deep within my soul for more of Jesus. I am not satisfied with where I’ve been; He hasn’t allowed me to be. I long to see Him reveal Himself more fully. My soul thirsts for His living water and cries for Him to pour it forth.

And that’s why I feel so hopeful. Because Isaiah 44:3 promises that God will pour water on the thirsty land. And I’m thirsty.

Are you thirsty, dear one?

I pray that you are. You see, God will not pour water on a land that doesn’t recognize its thirst. He pours it on the thirsty land, one that perceives its lack.

The words of James 4:6 come to mind.

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

God stands ready to pour out grace to those who understand how desperately they need it.

I wonder. What if our unwillingness to recognize our thirst holds back the outpouring God wants to unleash? Have we pretended to be satisfied, covering our thirst by appearing to be full when in fact we are parched and dry?

What is your heart saying, dear one? Is your smile on Sunday morning covering burdens you’ve been afraid to name? Do you offer “right” answers while wondering at the absence of peace you feel within your heart? Do you speak of the beauty of God’s presence but silently wonder where He actually is?

Maybe your present routine is suddenly not enough for you. Perhaps, like me, something stirs within you, telling you that what you’ve been experiencing of God is somehow less than.

Beloved, what if that stirring comes from God Himself? What if He seeks to awaken us to the “more” He always intended for us? What if He simply waits for us to acknowledge our thirst and cry out to Him?

“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.”

Oh, how we need the revelation of His Spirit! That’s the only thing that will distinguish us from the lost, dear one. People need to see our lives marked by the presence and power of the Spirit of God. And He will pour out on us as we acknowledge our thirst.

So here’s how I plan to begin 2015. Like Elijah, who after 3 ½ years of drought perceived that God was ready to send the rain, I will drop to my knees and pray for the promised outpouring. And I will not stop until I see the cloud forming over the sea and my flesh feels the first drops of rain.

Will you join me, dear one? We’ve got nothing to lose. God always keeps His Word.

When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. Isaiah 41:17

You see? When we humble our hearts and pray believing, it’s as good as done.