Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Poised to See a Fall


And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Leviticus 26:7 (KJV)

It is so easy to live the Christian life with a victim mentality. The abundant life Jesus promised seems to be meant for others. If left unchecked, ones thoughts can easily lead to discouragement, hopelessness, and frustration. So many live out their days with clouds of doom, guilt, bitterness, restlessness…..anything but peace, joy, and delight. Feeling more like targets than warriors God’s children can spend more time ducking the blows than fighting the enemies. Today’s verse not only gives me hope but a strategic battle plan.

It speaks of confrontation and ultimate defeat! Leviticus is full of God’s call of obedience to Him and cooperation with Him. When His principles are applied, His Word obeyed, His commands followed, and His will chosen, it puts us in a poised position to chase our enemies and see them fall. I must note what it is that actually brings the enemies down. It is the sword! For believers, we know the sword to be the Word of God. How well are we actually wielding our sword? How often are we experiencing the exhilaration of seeing our enemies fall?

Without question our greatest enemy is Satan himself. He is bent on not just making our life uncomfortable but has every intent of total destruction. He knows us well and has hand selected the tools he will use to attack us. His choice may have to do with the people in our life, our circumstances, our health, our strongholds, our weaknesses…the list is endless. He will even go so far as to customize temptations that seem to fit our needs. But we are not helpless or defenseless to this.

It is time we watch the enemy fall (be it the world, the flesh, or the devil) by appropriating God’s Word to each situation. This is done when we obey it but it is also done as we speak the truths of Scripture out loud. In order to do that we must be in the Word daily. That is how God helps us build an arsenal of verses to come out fighting with. Yesterday, for me, it was standing on the verse that says God inhabits the praises of His people. When discouraging thoughts began to consume me I fought back with simple praise to Him. As I spoke the praise the enemy of discouragement fell! God and I both danced in delight!

Father, I praise You for the enemies that will fall today! Amen.