Warriors Arise: May 15, 2021
1 Samuel 30:7-10 (NKJV) Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. 8 So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.” 9 So David went, he and the six hundred men who were with him, and came to the Brook Besor, where those stayed who were left behind. 10 But David pursued, he and four hundred men; for two hundred stayed behind, who were so weary that they could not cross the Brook Besor.
We can find ourselves in the middle of a God mission. God is directing our path, but we need help. We need a clue. We have come as far as we can come. We are tired and hungry. Pursuing what God has said is ours but not knowing if we are going in the right direction. It also can mean we are running hard and fast in the wrong direction. We can come as far as we have seen clues to get us this far but to go any further without any direction might be chasing after the wind because we do not know the direction at this point.
The men were tired. They needed to rest. Remember they were sent away from the battle between the Philistines and Israelites. They had a three day journey back to their home city. When they saw the smoke from a distance they pressed on to see what had happened. Upon cresting the mountain, they see their city in ash and smoke. They could not find their wives or children. The men wanted to kill David but he sought God. God spoke and told them to pursue and overtake the Amalekites. David and his men, 600 men, went immediately. They had not slept and we have no idea how long it had been since they had eaten.
David had trained his men well. They were not weak. However, this pursuit left 200 of them unable to continue. While David was making plans for the men to stay behind, he sent out scouts to find the trail. They had all heard God. They were to pursue and overtake the Amalekites. There was no time to waste but they needed to find the trail. They needed to know they were going in the right direction.
1 Samuel 30:11-14 (NKJV) Then they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David; and they gave him bread and he ate, and they let him drink water. 12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins. So when he had eaten, his strength came back to him; for he had eaten no bread nor drunk water for three days and three nights. 13 Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man from Egypt, servant of an Amalekite; and my master left me behind, because three days ago I fell sick. 14 We made an invasion of the southern area of the Cherethites, in the territory which belongs to Judah, and of the southern area of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.”
With the way this slave talked it is as if he had no sense about him. Even time I read this, it is as if he either has no clue who these men might be or he is bragging knowing he is about to die anyway. They found him, fed him and gave him water. Maybe the slave didn't have a clue who they were because he had heard stories of David and his men. He had heard how ruthless they were in battle. How could these men be those men? These men were nice and fed him.
David was smart enough to know not to overlook who God might use. God didn't overlook him. David was the runt of the litter from his family. He ws treated as "less-than" and without value. Yet, God saw him and had Samuel anoint him as the next king of Israel. He would not underestimate the value of the man before him now. He knew God had provided exactly who they needed to pursue and overtake the Amalekites.
1 Samuel 30:15-16 (NKJV) And David said to him, “Can you take me down to this troop?”
So he said, “Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will take you down to this troop.” 16 And when he had brought him down, there they were, spread out over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing, because of all the great spoil which they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
The Egyptian slave was cast away from his Amalkite master but David sought to revive him and see his value. David saw God's involvement in leading this lowly slave, this sick and weak man, a man who had been a part of the raid on David's city. This man was given the opportunity to redeem himself. This was his day. He could have died just as his former master had left him, but God gave him a chance to redeem himself and assist David and his men to achieve what God had promised they would accomplish. Who has God put in your path to help you achieve the purpose for which God has sent you?
1 Samuel 30:17-19 (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. 18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives. 19 And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; David recovered all.
Today was David and his men's day. It was all the day for their wives and children. They were rescued before harm came to them. David and his men fulfilled the word of God. They did pursue and overtake the Amalekites. They did get everything back and an overflow.
Our God is God of the overflow. He is one who says and if we follow, He will empower us to fulfill what He sent us to do. Our God is for us to achieve all He has put in us to do.
Isaiah 55:11 (NKJV) So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Father, You are awesome in all of Your ways. When You say for us to do something, You intend to lead us. You intend for us to pursue You, the clues You put before us, and the people You want to position around us to help us accomplish the word You have spoken. Thank You for speaking directly into my life. Thank You for directing my path and giving me passion to pursue what You have for me. Thank You for leading me to recover all the enemy has stolen from me. Thank You for putting people in my life who will help me to accomplish the word You have given me. You are my God and I will worship You. I will turn to You when I do not know what to do. I will stop and rest only to look for clues to make sure I am going in the right direction. I will help those along the way and see their value in the fulfillment of the word You have given me. I will bless the Lord and follow Your leading 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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