It may look like we’re surrounded…

It may look like and feel like we’re surrounded, when in fact, we are! We’re surrounded by God and His angels, but all we may see and feel is the attacks of the enemy.

Before our breakthrough, there’s always a battle with the enemy because he knows what’s ahead of you. Don’t quit… “Thieves truly don’t break into empty houses and he wouldn’t be fighting you so hard if there wasn’t something in you and for you.”

If at first you don't succeed, try, and try again.

And Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?” And the LORD said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.” Judges 20:27

The Lord basically said, “Don’t quit, but Go!” This was His people’s inquiry after their second round of fighting the enemy. It’s a process. It’s not magic. God can take and do anything He wants to in a single second but He allows us to grow through. God allowed Jesus to go through a process. Jesus' whole life was a process leading up to His death and sacrifice, but that wasn’t the end. It was always to be for Him to come and die for you and me. That’s the whole reason He was born. He was sent by God. Heaven came down, a man without sin, and yet He still had to go through the process. He was a man of wisdom and peace but yet hated without cause because of Who He was (God in the flesh).

God's Spirit lives in and amongst His people and there is a real enemy who fell from his place and he knows his final destination (defeat!). He hates God and he hates the Spirit of God in and for you. He knows what Jesus died AND rose to do for and in you. The enemy is real, he hates you and doesn’t want you to succeed. But God already had a plan from the beginning, He is for you and gets the final say. We have to trust that. We all fight battles of many kinds and the truth is, very few know how to battle and don’t know that they possess the tools to win. The real battle is spiritual and within, although it manifests outwardly.

Jesus was tempted in the wilderness to quit. He constantly had people challenging Him, coming against Him, and trying to trick and trip Him up. They did not succeed and He did not cave or quit. He knew His true calling and the attacks that would come with it, all to well.

Jesus is the ultimate One we are to look to as our example but there are also many throughout the Bible that we can see faced many things and much adversity. We can even look around in our own lives and see where the hand of God has been on our lives, on those we know and those who have gone before us. We can tell by the testimonies. We’re all a work in progress but one thing is sure: we will battle until the end. We know Who wins and if at first we don’t succeed, we must continue and try again. There are some things that we must not pursue and that is why it’s wise to seek God; His wisdom, His guidance, His counsel, His approval, His power, and His strength. We are nothing without Him.

These men had been fighting a very long hard battle against their very own brethren. The battle was fierce and many times what we are going through is fierce. Some days it seems the enemy has gotten the best of us and it looks and feels like we will never win or succeed. Looks and feelings can be deceiving! God always gets the final say but if we quit before the victory, then we forfeit the blessing of God. That’s the whole tactic of the enemy. God allows it to get hot and heavy at times and we wonder why, but that doesn’t mean He has forgotten about us, though it seems.

These men understood the importance of prayer being power and without God it was useless. They knew this. They realized if God didn’t approve and go before them, it was no use to even try or to try again. They sought God before they went out to battle the first time, they sought God after the losses the second time, and they fasted and wept before Him until evening. They sacrificed up offerings before Him. They inquired of the Lord in those days. We must too, all the days of our lives. I never want to stop seeking God or hearing His voice, feeling His power and His supernatural hand of guidance. It is the most important thing to me. Otherwise, I have no hope.

It reminds me of the story of David in 1 Samuel 30

• V8: So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”

David inquired of the Lord often but this particular time he and his men lost their families to the enemy in battle. His men all quit on him and were upset at him. David went to be alone with God instead of quitting and he was very down and out. We know this because he chose to encourage himself in the Lord. That tells us that he was down to nothing and he that he powerless on his own to save their families. So he went to be alone with God as Jesus often did, and he prayed and spent time with God. David sought the Lord and so must we. How can we expect to win if we quit!!? How can we expect to recover it all alone?

God told him to pursue AFTER the losses and that he’d recover all that AND MORE, and he did. When God gives back, He always gives back bigger and better!!! He is the God of more than enough. He makes the enemy pay. That doesn’t mean that we won’t feel losses, or else He’d have no reason to repay and we’d have no reason to pursue. It doesn’t mean that we’re not defenseless or defeated just because we face battles. Just the opposite. The enemy just don’t want you to know it because if you ever find out, he’s finished.

The men of Israel in the opening text, went out the third time, like God told them to do. The battle was again hard but they went out on the third day and placed themselves in battle formation against the enemy AS AT OTHER TIMES. They kept on doing exactly what God told them to do, just as He told them to do the times before, even though it didn’t seem to work. The enemy seemed to be gaining ground against them on this day just like the other days, until they weren’t. It may seem the enemy’s tactics are working UNTIL THEY DON’T. One day everything can turn around just like that. On the 7’th day the walls of Jericho came crashing down and suddenly Paul and Silas’s prison walls came crashing down… The enemies THOUGHT they were succeeding and would succeed and have the final say, BUT they failed to seek God and failed to see that God had a plan for the ones who did seek Him. There’s always a BUT when God steps in. Your problem may be big BUT GOD is bigger. Amen!

• “And ten thousand select men from all Israel came against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not know that disaster was upon them. The LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel. And the children of Israel destroyed that day twenty-five thousand one hundred Benjamites; all these drew the sword.” Judges 20:34-35

They did not realize that disaster was near. The enemy may look like he is winning for a while or for a season, but there is always a plot twist!

The Lord struck them down. The Lord gave the strategy! We are on the winning team if we will but be still and wait for guidance and His hand to move. His power is in, for and available to the believer. The enemy soon realized that they were defeated although they were very strong men.

The horse may be ready for the day of battle but victory rests in the Lord and even the strongest men will flee in His sight. Who can stand against Him? When God says no weapon formed will prosper, it won’t. It may be sent but it’ll ultimately fail and will not do what it was sent to do. Gods word, power and plan will prevail! Haman's plan to destroy God's people fell back on him. Read it in Esther. When someone plots your downfall and digs a ditch for you, they dig it for themselves. If you are a child of God, know that He doesn’t take kindly to these attempts though He allows them. He may allow them to go on for a long while but only to show Himself mighty in the end. Though it tarry, it won’t forever… Hang on in the middle as long as you have to. Victory is sure when we trust in Him, although it seems we will never win. He gets the final say and the victory.

• “A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand, But it shall not come near you.” Psalm 91:7

The attacks may be brutal, the fire may be 7x hotter than it was and all hell may be breaking loose BUT it doesn’t change the fact that God is for you. Although He may seem a million miles away, He is fighting behind the scenes.

Just hold on.

• “One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you.” Joshua 23:10

If He promised you, He will. Whatever that is to you. It may l👀k like you’re surrounded and you may be but you’re also surrounded by Him…

May we ask God to open our eyes to see like Elisha did.

• 2 Kings 6

  15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

  16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

  17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Many have gone to battle but all who trust God will win. It isn’t always an overnight victory or success but in the end He wins. He was winning all along, they just couldn’t see it, for it was hidden from them. Pray for eyes to see.

The battle may be hard and fierce but what the enemy doesn’t know, see or realize is that the Lord is with you and He has heard and is attending to your cry child.

The Lord struck them down and we must wait on the Lord to instruct and avenge, and not take matters into our own hands. He said He would. Do not pursue unless He tells you to, for we are helpless without Him. Shall we retreat or advance? We never back down, we just wait for God to intervene. We were born to battle because until Jesus comes back we do. We know it’s already written and finished, and that He gets the final say. The last page is written and assured.

• “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” Matthew 5:18

There is No victory without a war. Joshua fought the battle at Jericho and the walls came tumbling down. The walls are built and meant to block you from the promises of God that are just on the other side of the battles. God gave His only Son for you and Jesus died for you to have it all. He then rose and left His Spirit in you to achieve, possess and pursue! Setbacks aren’t failures but proof you are going through. It looked Iike Jesus was down and done but the third day showed us differently. The darkest hour is just before dawn and the promise and hope of Easter and Christ resurrection is a reminder that at dusk they found the tomb empty! Hope is alive and The grave is empty! You can’t keep a Good man down. Jesus wasn’t just a good man but the everlasting eternal life and hope of glory! It’s not just a good story! And what may just feel like the death and defeat of you, may only be just the beginning into something new and greater. Christ before you, Christ in you, Christ behind you and Christ for you.

Again, it may look and appear you are surrounded and you are! Heaven on all sides of you. Your prayers touch heaven & bring His power down.

Esther didn’t pursue going before the king until she prayed. David, a mighty warrior, didn’t pursue until He prayed and these men in Judges didn’t pursue until they prayed. They sought God and so must we. When God says to go and it’s go time, we must go and pursue, and not retreat! When He opens the door, it’s no time to back down.

The enemy is a liar and an intimidator. That’s all he’s got so don’t be intimidated. You’ve got heaven on your side and He will come through in the end. He was there all along. God is truth and there is more with us than with them. With God on your side, you can’t lose! The God of Angel armies (that we can’t always see) is on our side fighting for you and me. When we cry Heaven touches earth. When Heaven seems most silent, and we’re being fought the hardest, I believe that Heaven is fighting hardest even if it’s unfelt or unseen. May we hold To Gods unchanging hand and our profession of faith.

Not only must we pray but one of the most powerful tools is the weapon of worship. Yes, worship is a weapon. The enemy hates it because he used to be a worshipper before he fell, and he knows it touches and moves heaven. So, whatever you do, DON’T quit. Pursue in praise. Constant in prayer. Prayer is no doubt powerful in which it is our direct line of communication with God, but when the praise goes up, the power comes down. God tells us that he inhabits our praises. He loves, lives and moves IN THEM. So may we not keep our mouths shut but sing all the louder. We will see a victory and that is sure. Our praise is our power. Prayer is our life line.

Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 2 Chronicles 20:22

No matter what you’re facing, God is bigger and He has proved it time and time again. He hears you when you call and it’s a privilege to pray.

• Judges 20

  41 And when the men of Israel turned back, the men of Benjamin panicked, for they saw that disaster had come upon them. 42 Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them, and whoever came out of the cities they destroyed in their midst. 43 They surrounded the Benjamites, chased them, and easily trampled them down as far as the front of Gibeah toward the east.

They were terrified when they saw that the hand of God was on the move through His people. So they fled toward the wildness BUT the battle followed and overtook them and so they were destroyed. Remember there’s always a but and plot twist with God. God's people surrounded the enemy and pursued them relentlessly AND overtook them! You and I can too unless we quit. God has the final say and it speaks of the end. Only He knows when that is but He gives us the power to endure as long as we stay close to Him. We must not grow weary in doing well for in the END we reap a harvest if we do not faint! Galatians 6:9. The enemy is trying to wear you out. Pray and praise louder. Even if it’s just a whisper of His name, There’s power!

Everyone battles. Everyone comes under attack, but too few know how to fight and not quit. The enemy may fight like hell against you but heaven is for you. He has a strategy but God does too. We know Who wins. Yes, He is for you and not for everyone else and agaisnt you as some may think. The very God Who created it all is for you and I and we are held in His hand and created for such a time as this. Who can tell what’s on the other side?

Lyrics to “see a victory”:

The weapon may be formed, but it won't prosper
When the darkness falls, it won't prevail
'Cause the God I serve knows only how to triumph
My God will never fail
Oh, my God will never fail

I'm gonna see a victory
I'm gonna see a victory
For the battle belongs to You, Lord
I'm gonna see a victory
I'm gonna see a victory
For the battle belongs to You, Lord (oh yeah)

There's power in the mighty name of Jesus
Every war He wages He will win
I'm not backing down from any giant
'Cause I know how this story ends
Yes, I know how this story ends

God doesn’t want us to just know it, He wants us to see it and hold it in our hands. The devil may be on hot pursuit, but greater is He that is in you and for you. When you come to the end of your trying to do it all alone, you will find this out. It is not by our own might nor power, but by the Spirit of the living risen Lord and Savior in us. Only One. Trying to get this implanted deep in our spirits. What you could never do on your own and in your own ability, God steps in to do. When the enemy messes with God’s children, they’re messing directly with God Himself. He is for you, so may you trust and rely on him and His promises, and seek him today. Before we ever had the attack, He already had a plan.

Please read Psalm 109:26-31 for yourselves and believe for it. The word is full of His promises and examples of His deliverances. He still trustworthy now and His word still holds just as true today as it did then. He is for you. He is same then, now and forever will be. He never loses power. We must hold onto His promises true. If God be for you, and He is, who in this world can be against you or stand against the power of His hand?!

God bless you abundantly!!!

Song: “Heaven Help Me” by Zach Williams