Enemies – Page 7 – Praying Pint

Whose Battle Is It?

The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent

Joshua 10:25
And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight

Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you

Deuteronomy 3:22
You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you

Exodus 14:14
The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent

2 Chronicles 20:15
Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s

Nehemiah 4:20
Our God will fight for us

Deuteronomy 1:30
The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you

Joshua 1:5
Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you

How many things do we do battle with something every day in our own strength? How many battles do we try to handle on our own? How many battles are we facing and worrying about? How does it make you feel to know you have neither the strength, courage, or will to handle it? I already know the answer. I face this all the time in my own life. Many times I worry and fret without even giving thought to turn it over to God. Why do I want to do this? Don’t I believe in the power of God? Certainly I do but for some reason I choose to keep the issue to myself. Sometimes I just want to bury my head in the sand and hope it blows by. Does this in any way sound like it is a life that is being lived to honor and glorify God. No it does not. I have work to do in this area. I am not sure about you but I must confess it and turn these over to God and watch His power intercede over it. I hope to share what God has shown me today in these scriptures with you in the future. Honor and glorify Him by giving your battles and issues into His capable hands.

Keep Him First

“Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.”

Joshua 7:24
And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones.

Numbers 16:27
And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”
And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.

Nehemiah 9:26
“Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies

Numerous times the sins of the fathers affect their families and children. Achan coveted material goods and all he had was destroyed. Imagine the last thoughts he had as he watched his family being stoned and burned. When we covet our wants and desires over God there are not only affects on us but on our family as well. Dads, moms – take a look at your heart, mind, and soul – what time is spent on your personal desires and what time is spent on growing desires of and for God? How much time is spent searching for that next thing to satisfy our wants? Trust me when I say this is so easy to fall into. We are saturated with our culture telling us we work hard and that our time away from work is ours to do pleasing us. This seems correct when we think about all that is said concerning work life balance. I do know from past experience that nothing of this world will give lasting satisfaction it is all temporary. The only thing that will give us lasting peace, joy, hope, love, and purpose is to seek first the kingdom of God, desiring to know Him – hear Him – obey Him more and more each day. Our purpose this side of eternity is to live to honor and glorify Him alone. Keep Him first!!!

Trouble Makers

O God, strengthen my hands

Nehemiah 6:1
Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it ( although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah. ’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.” Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.
Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.” But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.” And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me. Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.

There are always those around us that do not want to see success God has given to us. When God has placed within your heart a plan, Nehemiah is a good example of a person of God who knew God’s plan and that His hand was in it no matter what obstacles or hinderances came his way. It is easy to fear the unknown and stop. Standing firm and trusting that God is in control requires FAITH. Faith that no matter what the circumstance, no matter what the uncertainty, no matter how impossible it seems, holds firm to God. How many times does scripture say He is our Rock, our Fortress, our Strength, our Hope, our Deliverer, our Joy, our Rest…… In times of uncertainty trust in Him alone.