What do you believe about God and His power in your life?
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.””
Psalms 91:1-2 (NKJV)
Welcome to day 22 of our 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting!
It has been a transformative time so far. Know that if you devote your heart entirely to this season of consecration, it will be evident in your life. Today, we want to go into another topic that will further deepen our understanding of God in this season.
One of the things we looked at last week was the mercy of God. The more you learn about the character of a person, the more it will influence the way you see this person and choose to interact with them. This happens a lot in our natural relationships. If you know a person to be trustworthy, kind and helpful, you know that you can rely on this person when you are in need.
This is the same way it works spiritually: the more you learn about the character of God, the more you see reason to rely on him, and guess what? God has not hidden Himself from you; He wants you to know him well.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
New King James Version
23 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.
The bible says that man ought not to boast in the wealth of his possessions, but rather should boast in the fact that he has come to know and understand the LORD. Many have learnt only to trust in themselves, and what they can achieve for themselves, but God is pointing you to something of greater worth; He says knowing him, the character of his person as one who exercises lovingkindness, judgement and righteousness on the earth. When you read this, you can clearly see what the nature and character of God is: God is good.
Psalms 46:8-10
New King James Version
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has made desolations in the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
The psalmist says, come and behold the works of the Lord. Come and consider the workings of his power. He says, “Be still and know that He is God.”
It is important that you know who your God is, that you understand what He is capable of doing in your life. Because being still, in the face of wars, would be a resolve that one would only come to from understanding who exactly is on your side. When you consider who exactly is fighting the battle with you, you have every reason to be still, because He is God, and He will always be the victor.
Look at the Story of the Children of Israel and Samuel:
1 Samuel 7:7-10
New King James Version
7 Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
8 So the children of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.”
9 And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.
10 Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel.
Israel had again sinned against God, worshipped other gods, and had their territory taken away from them by the Philistines. At this particular point in their history, the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah to seek the mercy of God in prayer to restore them and protect them from the Philistines. And when the Philistines heard that the Israelites were gathered at Mizpah, they went there to attack them. What is worthy to note here is that, when Israel got news of this, they told the prophet not to cease crying out to the LORD on their behalf!
This is powerful! You need to understand what is at play here. The children of Israel were afraid, but they chose to continue in prayer to God, even when they knew that trouble was coming. Their first instinct wasn’t to flee, which may look wise from a natural standpoint, but there was a supernatural victory that was waiting to happen for them. They believed and trusted that God would help them, and alas, God threw their enemies into confusion and gave them a lavish victory.
1 Samuel 7:12-13
New King James Version
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”
13 So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.
God not only protected them from the harm their enemies had planned for them; God actually restored to them the territory they lost! In response to what God had just done for them, they named a stone at that point where God met them, “Ebenezer”, meaning that thus far God has helped us. It dawned on them who their source has always been. The same God they sinned and rebelled against repeatedly is the one who has continually shown up in their history as their hero! He had always rescued them from trouble and been their stone of help. This victory did not come by their wisdom, might or wealth of military resources; it came by the hand of God. Their advantage here was not in anything they had for themselves; their advantage was in the fact that they knew God and sought for his help.
You may think that you know the LORD, but your response in situations like these would test the strength of your convictions. What do you believe about God and His power in your life? Do you believe that God can be the source of help in need every season of your life? When you are faced with your own battle in life, would your trust be in your might alone, or would you trust in God, who is able to see you through?
In God, you can find refuge and a safe fortress in Him. You serve a God who can split the sea in two, side by side, to give you safe passage on the ocean floor, to protect you from your enemies.
Psalms 23:4
New King James Version
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You serve a God who can walk you through the valley of the shadow of death, and you come out untouched because He is with you!
Scripture talks about how God preserved men who were thrown into a fiery furnace to burn; they came out alive, and not only that, they came out and did not smell like what they had been through. That’s your God! He is reliable
Proverbs 3:5-6
New King James Version
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
This is the truth of who God is, and who He wants to be in your life. He wants you to know him and trust that you can lean on him. Lean not on your own understanding, your one strength and wisdom, because it can fail you, but one forever sure thing is that God will not fail you; you can trust Him with all of your heart.
Luke 12:29-30
New King James Version
29 And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.
30 For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.
Jesus tells his disciples that they ought not to worry because the heavenly Father knows that they have need of these things. This season of your life, God is ready to show up in your life as Ebenezer; He is ready to be your rock of help, but you need to also be ready to walk with Him.
This season, intentionally learn to seek the help of God, to lean on Him, and to boast in God being sufficient for you!
Prayer
Father, I acknowledge you as my source of help! I lack nothing, because with you I have everything I would ever need. In this season, I receive the help of God in every area of my life.
