Lately my thoughts have been occupied with
many of the trying situations that have occurred not only in my life over the
past ten or so years, but also those issues which I believe were designed by
the powers of darkness to shake and weaken the faith of every believer.
Without question there have been obvious
barriers in each of our lives that were sent to impede our progress and
obstruct our forward motion as we strive to follow after Christ;
Such barriers as:
- Un-employment
- A weak economy
- Real estate
Foreclosures
- Bankruptcy
The barriers mentioned above would cause the
average human being to fold, and surrender, under the weight of these most difficult
times.
Thank God that we are not just average humans, if memory serves me correctly;
Gods’ word says in 1st Peter 2:9 that those of us who love and serve
Him are:
“…a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that we
should show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into
His marvelous light…”
However I submit to you today that even
knowing this bit of truth, we as Christians have a tendency of compounding the
issue by creating our own barriers:
·
Bad Company (surrounding yourself with people who mean
you no good)
·
Pride (believing that we don’t need anyone’s help
or advice)
·
Doubt (not certain if God will come to our aide as
promised)
·
Disobedience (choosing to do things our way and not His)
·
Distance (abandoning communication with God and the
studying of His word)
·
Faithlessness (causing us not to believe His word or stand
on His promises)
·
Fear (the spirit that brings about all the above
mentioned barriers in life)
I
guess you could say that its moments and issues such as these which cause your
plans, dreams and praise to really go
south…
In
the 30th chapter of 1st Samuel, we read the story of
David and his men as they returned to Ziklag; a town south of Judah; noted for
its having been the city of David given to him by king Achish of Gath and his
residence when he was joined by many of his mighty warriors.
When
they arrived, they found that the Amalekites had raided and burned the town,
taking with them all of their possessions, their wives; and their children.
David and his mighty men began to weep; their loss was so great that the men
talked of stoning David to death.
As
we read further we find that David encouraged himself in the Lord his God, then
he inquired of the Lord for instruction. Let us tackle the first part of this
issue:
1. Over in the 29th
chapter we find that David makes an allegiance with Achish who was King of Gath
of the Philistines; Israel’s sworn enemy. The same people who gave us “Goliath”
whom David slew.
-
We must never find
ourselves in compromising positions which go against the grain of Gods’ word.
Living contrary to the commandments of God and aligning ourselves with the enemies of God will certainly hinder our walk and
our growth.
2. The town of Ziklag was a
gift to David from Achish
-
Our adversary, “Satan” has nothing good to offer us,
therefore we should accept nothing from him. His ultimate goal is to turn us
away from God.
3. Ziklag was located south
of Judah, (Judah means praise)
-
When we allow the enemy
to infiltrate our spiritual perimeter he brings treachery, sorrow, and
discouragement. This can cause our praise to go south;
causing what I call, “A Ziklag Moment”
Ziklag
moments are those times when we allow our spirit man to be bombarded by the
tactics of Satan, and bring us to the place of forgetting how God has blessed
us up till that place in our life. Our focus is solely on our current situation
which causes us to over-look the fact that God is still able to do exceeding,
abundantly, above all that we can ask or think.
When your rent, mortgage, or car note is way past due and there is more month at the end of your paycheck: “That’s a Ziklag Moment”.
When your loved one is close to death and the doctors have given up on them: “That’s a Ziklag Moment”.
When your spouse is unfaithful and serves you with divorce papers: “That’s a Ziklag Moment”.
When your best friends turn their backs on you in your time of need: “That’s a Ziklag Moment”.
Whenever
your Ziklag moment arrives, that’s not the time to surrender to the situation,
that’s the time to remember this one true fact;
“YOU
HAVE A HISTORY WITH THE LORD”
Just
knowing he’s kept his promise never to
leave or forsake you; simply counting the many, many times he’s made a way out
of no way for you. You must understand that God allowed your Ziklag Moment for
the sole purpose of getting glory from your life.
David
remembered his history with God and began to encourage himself (Give God Praise) in the Lord. Then he
was able to go before the Lord and seek instruction for regaining all that was
stolen from him, plus all the spoil of his enemy. (Ref. Proverbs 13:22b)
When
we experience Ziklag moments, that’s not the time to let our praise go south on
us; that’s the time to remember our history with God and transform into a Psalm
34 warrior. A song writer put it this way:
“With my hands lifted
up, and my mouth filled with praise, with a heart of thanksgiving; I will bless
thee oh Lord…”
So
just remember; when your circumstances threaten to send your praise south,
encourage yourself in the Lord…and come out with your hands up!
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