Weekly Encouragement - March 16, 2014 Don’t Give Away Your Power In life, we learn a lot of things through trials and tribulations. You hear words like you do not have a TESTimony until you have a test, which is true. I love to watch movies but I don’t watch anything that would corrupt my mind. I love winner movies such as a rescue mission, army that brought success through hell over high waters. Some noted winners in the Bible through trials and tribulations are: Deborah, the Bee (Deborah in Hebrew means Bee). She was a Prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, counselor, warrior, and the wife of Lapidoth according to Judges Chapters 4 & 5. The only female judge mentioned in the Bible, Deborah led a successful counterattack against the forces of Jabin, king of Canan and his military commander Sisera, noted in chapter 4. Her story is in poetic form and also became a song. It is also significant because it is one of the oldest passages that portray fighting women, the account being that of Jael, the wife of Heber, a Kenite tent maker. Jael killed Sisera by driving a tent peg through the side of his head as he slept. Both Deborah and Jael are portrayed as strong independent women. So, that’s the story of what Deborah did but what does that tell us about her character? Her actions reveal her character. The first thing I see is confidence so sure of God’s call that compromise stood no chance of hampering it. Deborah was plain spoken, direct, honest, decisive and courageous and no nonsense warrior. No shirking from hard choices. She probably saw life pretty black and white—no gray areas to think twice over, which is why she was named the Bee. Bees are busy focusing on their appointed task. That’s why we might get stung if we don’t steer clear of them while they’re doing what they do best. Bees are no nonsense creatures and the results are their industry producing one of nature’s most wonderful commodities, honey. Deborah had a great fruitful harvest and did not neglect or compromise her call from God, a woman of influence and her spiritual mantle created an atmosphere of courage for both men and women. God favored her and that is seen most clearly in the Bibles about her ministry. One lady in this world, Prime Minister Thatcher was nicknamed the Iron Lady; Deborah’s name is significant all by itself, the “bee.” Queen Esther (Hebrew name, Hadassah, also means myrtle), Esther Chapters 1 – 10, became a Queen through a beauty contest. Haman, who, with his wife and advisers, plotted against Esther’s people, the Jews, making a plan to kill and destroy all Jews throughout the Persian Empire, selecting the date for this act by the drawing of lots. She called a fast and used special skills to turn the enemy to her husband, king Ahasuerus. The story is an incredible story that has a lot of potential to teach us about who we are and remind us of our divine nature and we can thrive even in a wicked and dangerous situation! King David of Israel is one of the most amazing men of all history of the Bible, the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah according to 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 1 Chronicles and is the ancestor of Jesus according to the Gospels. Whenever David is mentioned we normally recall the story of a young lad hurling a stone at a giant and somehow killing him. The life of David is about having a heart for the LORD. A heart for the LORD is one that is totally committed to doing GODs Will, even when it goes against what everyone else is trying to get us to do. Although he went through much trials and tribulations, he is depicted as a righteous king, although not without faults, as well as an acclaimed warrior, musician, and poet, traditionally credited for composing many of the psalms contained in the Book of Psalms. Gideon means Destroyer, Mighty warrior, or Feller (of trees)”, Judges Chapters 6 – 8 and considered the man of faith in the Book of Hebrews. As is the pattern throughout the book of Judges, the Israelites again turned away from God after 40 years of peace brought by Deborah’s victory over Canaan and were allowed to be oppressed by the neighboring Midianites and Amalekites. God chose Gideon, a young man from the Tribe of Manasseh to free the people of Israel and to condemn their worship of idols. Very unsure of both himself and Gods command, he requested proof of Gods will by three miracles: firstly a sign from an angel in Judges 6:16, and then two signs involving a fleece, performed on consecutive nights and the exact opposite of each other. Most of us want to know Gods plan for our lives but we dont know how to find it. One misconception is that Gods guidance will come to us from out of the blue, and that it has nothing to do with what we are doing now. However, often times, although God guided many people, we see that frequently Gods call came while they were immersed in the challenge of the moment. A good example of this type of guidance is seen in the life of Gideon. He had limited vision but he was committed to it. His challenge was to get food for his family even though hostile invaders were making the growing, gathering and preparation of the food almost impossible. Gideon however, was resourceful. He put a winepress to double duty by turning it into a sunken threshing floor. It lacked ventilation to blow the chaff away, but at least it was hidden from the Midianites. Gideon was working in his threshing floor when God sent him a messenger with a challenge. Gideon was surprised when God told him to go in the strength he had and called him a mighty warrior. When we feel weak, God is our strength. If you read the Bible, it has already noted every kind of trial and tribulation that takes place on the face of this earth. The beauty of reading the Bible is it always ends with victory in God because God has never lost a battle and never will! And seeing that we are an army of the Lord and noted to have won, we must not give away our power through an offense, bad breaks, gossips, rumors, lies, innuendoes, betrayal, etc. And we must be sure to have the Word of God in our hearts so that we can have the mind of Christ (Philippines 2:1-2) because there is no time left on earth to deal with anything that is not of God. When we do not give our power away and think on good things (Philippines 4:8), our mind is then trained to focus on Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). And if we give our energy to battle against correcting lies, gossips, innuendoes, etc., then we waste our power and strength on absolutely nothing because the battle is the Lord’s, not ours (2 Chronicles 20:15). If our focus is on Jesus and we are his witnesses on this earth to bring the Gospel to the Nations, then we don’t give away our power. “After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting, Praise the LORD! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God” Revelation 19:1
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 03:07:08 +0000
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