Devotions

This is the text in the original Hebrew for Psalms 119: “When designing pursuers approached me, who are far from thy law; then you, O Jehovah, wast near with all thy faithful commandments” (Psalm 119:150-151, Helen Spurrell Translation).

Demonic principalities and powers had surrounded David, trying to bring him and Israel to ruin. Yet this man of God testified that as the enemy drew near, he trusted the Lord to draw even nearer.

Here in David’s testimony is a wonderful promise for you and me. We can be sure Satan is out to destroy, harass and pull down all who love the Lord. He will do all within his power to bring us into a pit of despair, confusion, guilt and condemnation.

Do you have any satanic, “designing pursuers” coming against you right now? Overwhelming temptation? Financial burdens? Marriage or family problems? When your pursuers come near you with a design to destroy you, take heart, because the Lord God Almighty is even nearer. He is at your side — and if He is near you, He will act on your behalf.

 “Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those also who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly. Sing to God, sing praises to His name; extol Him who rides on the clouds, by His name YAH, and rejoice before Him” (Psalm 68:1-4).

See what God has promised to do for us, if we put our trust in Him! When we give Him our worries, God will put our enemies to chase.

Songs of victory sung after victories are not true songs of faith. Why? Because our doubts are not dealt a deathblow by our experience in victory. You see, when we experience victorious deliverance, we have a temporary flush of thanksgiving. We are naturally joyful because our God has mercifully acted on our behalf despite our doubts. Yet, what happens to our doubts? They are merely submerged deeper into the heart.

Dear saint, the fact is that God has led you to your current situation. You may be surrounded by obstacles on all sides, with what seems like an enemy closing in. You may be saying, “Lord, You have led me faithfully all my life. But I don’t understand what I’m going through. The future looks so bleak.”

Right now we are living in a time of confusion and pandemonium such as the world has never seen. Satan is using fear to torment multitudes. In the very midst of this time our Lord is asking His people, “How will you deal with this? Are you going to believe My promises in spite of everything taking place around you? Will you trust Me in spite of your deepest fears?”

In order to do this, we must fix our minds on the Lord. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You” (Isaiah 26:3). Our will has to be involved in this. No matter how unbelievably dark our situation becomes, something of faith has to rise up in us that says, “No, devil! No, world! I will trust in the One who has faithfully delivered me at all times.”

That is when perfect peace comes. It is supplied by the Lord Himself, who is pleased by our trust in Him. Then, as chaos reigns all around, our lives will speak the powerful message of His joy. He has given us a song to sing to the world: “The Lord is faithful. He sees His people through!”

Let there be no misunderstanding: Our God is a tender, loving Father. There is a time to weep, a time to vent our fears. And right now many in the Body of Christ are overcome by fears of the future, fears about how they’re going to make it through.

As a pastor for many years, I didn’t take this issue lightly. Often I prayed, “Lord, are You demanding that Your people rejoice when they’re unemployed and losing their homes? They are in despair because they’re suffering. They don’t feel like singing. Can’t You cut them some slack?”

Throughout the gospels we see the Lord rebuking His disciples for their unbelief, saying, “Where is your faith?” (Luke 8:25). It is a scene we see played over and over again. And in the Old Testament, back at the Red Sea when the children of Israel were questioning their leader, I believe the Lord was not rebuking Moses when He asked him, “Why are you crying to me?” (see Exodus 14:15). Rather, God didn’t take kindly to the people’s insults. They had insinuated that He was going to allow them to be destroyed by the enemy. And He was offended by their accusations.

When we are hurting we are to cry out to the Lord. When we are in anguish over our situation, we are to pray, “Lord, help!” We are to bring Him all of our hurt and disappointment, for He desires to hear us. Then, after we pour out our heart to Him, He wants us to rise up in faith, face our trial, and proclaim, “I can do nothing on my own. God is my strength. Therefore, I will not fear. I’m going to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” (see Exodus 14:13).

The people of God were at the Red Sea mired in despair. At that moment how the Lord must have longed for someone like Gideon to rise up in that frightened camp and remind everyone of God’s faithfulness in the past. A few generations later Gideon had only a small army of three hundred men against an army, yet he shouted in faith before the battle (see Judges 6 and 7).  You see, as far as the Lord is concerned, the time to stand is in the darkest moment. It is when everything seems hopeless, when there appears to be no way out, when God alone can save and deliver. Israel’s predicament at the Red Sea was intended by God as a learning experience for them, a moment to build their faith. Because faith isn’t really being tested when everything is going smoothly.

If only Israel had remembered the miracles God had done for them in Egypt. If only they had trusted His word that He would carry them in His arms as a father carries his child. If only a few had begun a worship song — the same song they later sang on the other side. If only the people had trusted the Lord, shouting, “He is my strength! My God will triumph. Who is like unto Thee, O Lord?” Tell me, what would have happened?

They would have established a strong, abiding faith in God — a faith tested and proven through the fire of their predicament. Their faith would have emerged so unshakable that it would have carried them through every hardship of the wilderness journey just ahead. They would have had a foundation of faith upon which to build. And over time they would have learned to confidently praise God in all circumstances, with a faith so strong hell would have shuddered.

The great need of this present hour is for Christians who have learned to sing the song of deliverance when they are being tested.

Trapped between two mountains and facing the Red Sea, the children of Israel were in a hopeless predicament as an angry Pharaoh and his iron chariots closed in on them from behind.

This is a very familiar story, one you have heard your entire church life. God had led Israel into a horrible crisis where they were being chased by a fierce enemy. Incredible as it seems, the Lord had purposely led His people into this precarious spot. I believe it is a story with great importance for the Church today, indeed at this moment in history.

Israel was trapped, seemingly helpless. And it caused a panic throughout the camp of Israel. Wives and children wept, huddling around their fathers and grandparents. A group of irate elders descended on their leader, Moses, ranting accusingly, “Were there not enough graves in Egypt so you’ve brought us out here to die? We told you in Egypt to leave us alone. Better for us to have been slaves to Pharaoh than to die in this miserable wilderness!”

I wonder if Moses had a moment of misgiving in that hour. I picture him falling on his knees, crying, “Lord, what’s going on? How is this possibly Your will for us?” Amazingly, in that dark moment God wrought a miracle of deliverance for Israel. Suddenly the winds were stirred up so powerfully they parted the sea in two. With a miraculous escape route before them, the people walked over the sea on dry ground. Then, when Pharaoh and his army tried to follow, the waves toppled down, drowning them in the raging waters.

“So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt: so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses” (Exodus 14:30–31).