It is time for Israel to enter the promised land
(Today is Conflict Resolution Day)
The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, Deuteronomy 1:30 NIV
It is time for Israel to enter the promised land known as Canaan. There will be many enemies to fight. Israel is fearful. The people know, “The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own.” But they need to be reminded “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4). We tend to overestimate our own power, skills, and knowledge but minimize our need for God’s power, skills, and knowledge. Evangelist John R. Rice often said, “All of our failures are prayer failures.” That is likely so because prayer reflects our dependence upon God’s power, skills, and knowledge rather than our own. With that in mind, how should we face the conflicts of life? There are three items we need to keep in mind. First, the Lord goes before you. He has not abandoned you. He sees the battlefield before you, even has a plan for dealing with the enemy. Give Him the opportunity to lead. Second, the Lord Jehovah shall be part of the conflict. “He shall fight for you.” He even gives you His own armor to wear in the conflict (Ephesians 6). David told Goliath, “this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us” (1 Sam. 17:47). Third, encourage yourself by remembering how God has given you victories in the past. In today’s verse God reminded Israel of His prior deeds and power. Egypt was a great adversary to Israel but not to God. Pharaoh met his match in Jehovah! The battle in Egypt was bigger than the flesh could handle, but everything changed when God came on the scene. Isn’t it good to know He is with you? That’s why we can sing, “From victory unto victory His army shall He lead, Till every foe is vanquished and Christ is Lord indeed.”
Tom Swartzwelder was born again at the age of nine in an old-fashioned revival meeting. Tom received his B.A. from Tennessee Temple University and his M. Div from Luther Rice Seminary. He has pastored for nearly forty years in both bi-vocational and full-time roles. He provides practical how-to-do-ministry resources for the disciples of Jesus Christ at http://www.godsgreenhouse.net. Tom’s latest book is “God Speaks–Today!”
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