Warriors Arise: December 2, 2020
1 Samuel 30:17 (NKJV) Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.
Talk about being driven! David and his men were on a mission. What David and his men did seems impossible. The you think how long they had been awake? 200 of his men stayed behind. They attack before the Amalekites knew they were there and enter the battle knowing this was going to take some time.
I don't know if David remembered his history. But Israel's heritage displayed God's working through another group of men during battle. Joshua led the Israelites in a battle against the Amorites. This was not an easy task. God was with them but He didn't fight the battle for them. In the midst of the battle Joshua prayed.
Joshua 10:12-14 (NKJV) Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. 14 And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.
David had a very similar experience to Joshua. Both of them had a word from God regarding to how the battle would turn out. Joshua and the Israelites won their battle. David and his men would win their battle. David and his men road hard to find the Alalekites. Joshua marched his men all night to get to the battle. They were both called into battle after it started. For Joshua, the battle literally had already begun, with David, the enemy started the battle when they took David and his men's wives, children and belongings and burned their city. That would definitely be enough for an act of war.
Do you recognize when the enemy has stolen from you?
Do you know when the enemy has destroyed your home, your city, your state?
Do you see how the enemy has tried to kill your passion and purpose?
Until we identify the enemy we can't see there is a battle. The enemy tried to bully us into giving up on relationships and buying into lies saying, "They are just teenagers..." and I'm supposed to excuse their behavior because of their age. I didn't do it when they were toddlers and I won't start now. I don't get a "freebie" on my attitude because I am an adult, a wife, a mom, over worked, underpaid and whatever other excuse I can come up with in the middle of my attitude. So, why would I buy into the lie that I have to accept the attitude my teenagers throw at me? Well, I don't, because I know it is the enemy trying to cause a breach in the relationship I have with my kids. I address their attitude. No matter the excuse they are to deal with their problems before God, apologize when they are wrong, and seek God to find out why they feel so entitled to treat me or others disrespectfully.
I have to stay on top of this; because letting it go one time seems to give teenagers a pass to get worse. There are times when I let them cool down, letting the Holy Spirit work on them for a few minutes but we talk about it before they go to bed. Scripturally, we are not to let the sun go down on our anger (Eph. 4:26). I apply any disrespectful attitude to that verse. Generally, any type of attitude problem has some anger behind it. It is why there is a bite when the attitude is delivered. Teenage attitudes unchecked only reek dissension. Their attitude is disrespectful, leading to dissension and tearing the family relationships.
There is a right way to address a teenager's attitude: Be an excellent listener. When I say we talk about it before they go to bed, I am not preparing a lecture. They already know they were wrong. I don't have to tell them this. This is their opportunity to look inside themselves to find out what happened earlier that led to their attitude. I want to teach them this skill, because it will be valuable when they go off to college, work a full time job, get married, raise children, and volunteer in ministry opportunities. Hopefully, they will have learned to calm themselves down by asking, "Why am I so upset? Why did I say those hurtful things?" However, I don't want them just to ask themselves; they are to ask God. To ask an open question like "Why am I so upset?" The enemy will get in your mind and begin to say, "You have a right to be angry." Then he works through your thoughts and you begin to make it everyone else's fault for your bad attitude. Win the battle in your mind by going before God and letting the Holy Spirit lead you to the truth. Then you can get rid of your bad attitude rather than carry it in to your home, job, take it out on your spouse or children.
After everyone else has gone to bed I keep them up to talk about what happened. I am listening and asking questions to know what led to their outburst. This helps them to identify how they got to an attitude like hot lava spewing out, burning anyone who was around. Generally, something happened that they stuffed instead of working through it. They needed help identifying the source of their outburst. If they can't identify what happened to start their bad attitude we ask God. He is where they need to go when they have these outburst in the future. God will lead you to the truth and responsibility and a solution to prevent it from the out burst happening again but also a solution to what provoked the outburst, which is the real battle ground.
We need to gain sight of the enemy. He is not under every rock but he does provoke us more than most are willing to admit. He steals from us, threatens us, and destroys relationships in our lives. Sadly, we let him; because we do not want to see the enemy has called us to a battleground for our spouse, children, job, and the future God dreams we would have here on earth.
David and Joshua's experiences have another similarity. What did they both do before enter the battle? They both prayed! (Joshua 10:12 and 1 Samuel 30:8) They knew that they needed God's plan and encouragement. They knew something that the rest of us need to apply to our lives. They knew, even if the enemy has already attacked, they were not to go into battle without God's plan. They knew what God said would come true if they followed it. They also knew in the midst of battle God would hear them.
Identify the enemy.
Seek God for what to do
Engage in God's plan
Seek God for strength to finish what He told you to do
No matter how long, remain in the battle until God's plan is a reality.
Father, I want to see where the devil has already engaged me in battle. I want to have the courage to seek You and listen for Your plan. In Scripture, we are called to take a stand against the enemy. We are not to roll over and become his slave. Jesus died so we could be free from the curse of the law, put the enemy under our feet, and live victorious now and with You in heaven. Jesus showed us how to defeat satan. Jesus taught us to know Your Word and use it again satan. Jesus gave His authority to us so we could defeat satan and retrieve all he has stolen from us. I ask in the name of Jesus for the courage to seek You for the battle plan and the "want-to" to engage in battle. When you make a promise I know you will be with me. I want to have the stamina and tenacity to follow You into battle over the enemy and remain in the battle until it is completed and victory is ours in Jesus' name amen.
A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,
Veridee Joy Hand
My hope is for Believers in Jesus Christ to join together each day to pray, to push back the enemy as we release God’s power here on earth against the coronavirus, riots, and lies. The prayers will be listed each day as Warriors Arise. I will put a date with it so we can keep them straight. If you have any questions please feel free to make a comment or private message me. If you would like this to come to your email directly please go to verideehand.com and subscribe.
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