“God will let you into the battlefield, so you can understand the meaning of victory.”
Today’s about VICTORY. What a feeling. Whether you nail your exam, score that date, get the job, have a successful night out with friends, finally get to do laundry, whatever it is, victory feels good. It feels good to win. To succeed. To achieve. King David was arguably God’s most faithful servant to walk the earth. He had God’s favor, he was anointed, and having God on your side in times of war came in very handy. See, because of God, David had victory wherever he went. How great does that sound? To be guaranteed victory? Today, we’re looking at later on, in David’s life. He writes this gigantic love poem to God that we know today as the book of Psalm. However, in chapter 13, we see David hit a low.
“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?” (Psalm 13:1-2 ESV)
How many times have we gone from this amazing period of time in our lives, to the depth of our next valley? How often have we come back from a retreat, returned from a conference, came home from a missions trip or even left church on the weekend, only to come “back to reality?” How many times have we had this amazing run of blessings, and security and freedom and contentment, only to be hit in the face with the circumstances of our valley? To be struck down with failure, sadness, loss, or anxiety? It can be so easy to thank God and see God and hear God from the top of your mountain. From the mountain top, everything feels clear. Nothing feels obscure. The air is fresh, not suffocating & the view is unbelievable, not dark. The perspective from the valley isn’t as glamorous.
So we question. We ask, “God, why did you allow for this? I thought we were good God, so why would this happen again? How could you allow me to fall like this? God, I thought I was okay. God, I thought things would work out. God, what happened? Are you there? What’s going on?” David felt those exact words. He felt conflicted. God favored David. David was honored by God. He made a covenant that promised David VICTORY. But David still found it hard to hear the Lord. He struggled to find his peace. He wrestled with God about the circumstances in his life.
“Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.” (Psalm 13:3-4 ESV)
So what are we doing when it comes to our valleys? Are we throwing in the towel and grudging through? Are we taking a step back from God and saying, “I’ll just have to figure it out for myself,”? Are we distancing ourselves from the Word because we’re “not in the mood to hear it,”? Ladies, let me encourage you to lean in. Lean into the word of God. Have your quiet time. Have you ever angry journaled to God? I know I have. I have approached God in my writing, in tears, ready to fight, and armed with more cuss words than I would like to admit. But I also have prayed. See, David asks for God’s listening ear. He prays for light. He’s asking for some good. David desires to see that win, that victory in his life over his enemies. So what David says next is interesting.
“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.” (Psalms 13:5-6 ESV)
Verse 6 of the NIV version says “I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me.” So what is your mentality? What will be your mindset in the valleys? When you are waiting for an answer, when you are expectant for something good to come, when you are hopeful for your next thing, when you are praying for your victory, what will be your mentality? David’s trust lied in God’s “steadfast love”. Are you trusting God? Have you surrendered those areas of your life to Him? Also, allow me to say, to stop monitoring the things you’ve already given up to God! Are you keeping in mind, you now have things in your possession that you were praying for a season or two ago? God rescued us! He is good! We can walk through the darkest of valleys and have no fear of evil. You can walk through the most hurtful of seasons and know that God is with you. You can be in a place of unknowing and uncertainty, and God will still be right there, with His rod and staff to comfort YOU, the same way He would on your mountain top! Rejoice in your salvation and trust in the love of God, for you, daughter, are SEEN. You are KNOWN by name. There is no season you will walk where God is not closer to you than the oxygen you breathe. There is no feeling you will experience, no tear you will shed that God cannot interpret. You are free to walk in victory even when you are in a valley.
Psalms 46:5 says “But GOD is with her, she will not fall; GOD will help her at break of day.”
I don’t know what your valley looks like, but I do know that you are chosen, not forsaken. God hears you. He desires for you to walk empowered. He wants you to walk boldly and confidently in Him. He wants you to trust in His powerful love because love equals God and God can do anything. Lean into God.
Comentários