The Gift of a Victory - Deuteronomy 20:4 Victory

Hallelujah brothers and sisters. Today's devotional is going to challenge all of us. God be praised.

My El-Shaddai. Mighty Warrior. I worship You with my whole being. Praise You for Your mighty works. Praise You for the mighty word today. Victory has been secured on the Cross. Praise You Jesus. I can just rest in You as I sit at Your feet. Blessed be Your Name. Praise You for answered prayer today and for more answered prayers tomorrow. I know that You work all things for good for those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. I lift Deuteronomy 20:4 to You. Fill my thoughts with revelation of this for myself and others. I sing of Your victories won for Your beloved church. I pursue You so I can walk in victory more and more. I see You go before me as the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire at night. Keep my eyes on You whether worshipping or serving. My heart is soft before You that I may stay humble. I ask for Your forgiveness today as I seek to forgive those who have sinned against me. I pray for reconciliation of Your sheep who have wandered away from their Shepherd. Prepare Your bride in this upcoming season. May Your Holy Spirit stir up the hearts of Your sheep. Bless Your servant with wisdom today as I put forth this devotion. You are an awesome and loving God. I give You all the glory and praise. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Deuteronomy 20:4 inspires today’s devotion (NIV), which says,

"For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to gift you victory."

This morning, as I sang the worship song, Defender, I began to weep. I have experienced His going before me without even realizing that I needed to be defended. Have you? Has God ever gone before you and cleared a territory before you got there? Perhaps it was an impossible situation that you were facing, by faith you knew you had to obediently step out.

So, I meditated on this word. Realizing the scripture mentions time after time God delivering His people.... going before them. Even before this specific scripture, chapter 20 opens with important context: God's people are outnumbered. But God...

You see that the Lord told His priest to tell the people in verse 3 "Here, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them." Then He tells them that He, Himself, is going with them against the enemies to "fight for you" and "gift you victory". Notice that He is fighting for you. Not with you. FOR YOU. We need to understand that He is not a passive God, walking alongside us as we are swinging the sword. He is going with us and then fighting for us in front of us. He doesn't need accolades. He does this FOR US.

I had to stop right there. For us. For you. For me.

Reading further, I see in Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV) similar words, "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

He is saying today that we are fighting battles that He just wants us to lay down at His feet. He just wants us to surrender it to Him, showing that He will go before us and win us the victory. What does He require?

The word says:

·         do not be fainthearted

·         do not be afraid

·         do not panic

·         do not be terrified by them

·         do not be discouraged

Seems like He is asking us to trust Him. Just -- Trust -- Him.

If He is worthy of our praise and our worship, isn't He worthy of our trust? Even Job said in Job 13:15, "though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." This verse has always been important to me. I clung to it during some tougher, testimony building times. Yes, I said testimony building times. It is in the times when life is the most imperfect, raw, and real that we find our real faith in Him. He is building us, our character, and our faith. Praise our God!

Will we trust Him?

I will. I will trust the Lord with all my heart. I will not lean on the things that I see with my eyes, feel my emotions, or hear with my ears. Instead, I submit the situation and the people to Him. I trust that there is a reason that He has brought me there. It may be to change the atmosphere of the environment or to help minister to someone. No matter what, I submit myself to Him with all that I am and ask Him what I can do for Him today to show my act of faith and obedience. My family and I have done this during a tough time. We served the homeless by singing worship and then feeding them. This act of faith sustained us as we were in the valley and serves as a monument of His faithfulness as we actively trusted Him. It was not always perfect but the more that we stepped out in faith, He met us there and was with us. And then He went before us with favor and provision.

Will we believe in His word?

In Numbers 23:19 (NIV), He is not a man that He would lie.

In 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV), the scriptures are "God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."

As Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) states, His word is "living and powerful, and sharper than any

two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

I believe what He says.

Do we know that He has good plans for you, to prosper you, and give you hope and a future?

Yes!! Our lives are tapestries that when you view underneath it looks raw and messy. Still on the surface, it is a beautiful mosaic of our lives. Testimonies everywhere to be seen with colorful thread and scene. No matter what you may be struggling with today, remember to praise Him with thanksgiving as it says in Psalm 100. Trust His plans for you. These plans are better than anything you could do yourself.

Do we know that no weapon against us will prosper?

Trust Him that He will provide divine strategies to keep you safe and protected from the evil one. Most of all, He will go before you and take care of Your enemies. You need to start with trust and participate in the victory by praying to Him in faith believing.

Just remember, even if we do not see our circumstances change right away, do we trust Him to stay true to His word? Yes! He has kept a covenant of love with His people. I trust Him. I surrender it all to Him. I look to Him for divine direction, intervention, and strategy.

To God be the Glory.