deliverance

Bumped and Bruised

“When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, ‘This is the king of Israel.’ So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him.” – 2 Chronicles 18:31 Yesterday, we learned that Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, and Ahab, the King of Israel, banded together to attack the country of Ramoth-Gilead, despite knowing that it was dangerous. Because Ahab was full of pride, he refused to heed the words of the prophet Micaiah, who foretold that he would lose his life in the war. When the moment of conflict came, he dressed Jehoshaphat in his clothes to detract attention from himself, and his “friend” nearly died at the hands of the enemy. However, in the heat of the battle, Jehoshaphat cried desperately to the Lord, and he was saved. Because he took a humble stance, God had mercy on

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God Works Slowly

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9 I’m passionate about history, and one of my favorite periods to study is the Bronze Age, which is when most of the Old Testament took place. Back then, armies were huge — often made up of hundreds of thousands of soldiers — and because they were equipped with a lot of weaponry and manpower, they traveled at a snail’s pace. It would take months for them to move from place to place because hundreds of chariots, livestock, water carriers, and other equipment accompanied them. And though they couldn’t get anywhere fast, when they finally reached their destination, they were a force to be reckoned with. I actually think this is a great analogy for how the

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Crushing Evil

“But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.” – Judges 4:21 I love that the Old Testament is full of stories about good conquering evil. Through the lens of a Jew born before Christ, every victory the Israelites had pointed to the ultimate victory of the Messiah and to the heart of a God who wanted justice to prevail. That said, there’s a very interesting account in the book of Judges, and I’m especially fond of it because it involves the forces of darkness being taken down by a woman. In the tradition of Eve, whose offspring would eventually crush the serpent’s head, this story is yet more proof of the Lord’s power to triumph over wickedness. Having been oppressed by a

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Nothing Outwits Divine Favor

“‘Don’t give me anything,’ Jacob replied. ‘But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages.’” – Genesis 30:31,32 Today, I want to look again at the story of Jacob and Laban as we continue to examine the power of the Lord’s favor in our lives. Since his father-in-law begged him to stay rather than returning to Israel, Jacob agreed to go on tending Laban’s flocks, but he told him that he needed to earn a wage. Laban was agreeable to this, and He invited the young man to name his price. Rather than make it complicated, Jacob simply asked to be given every sheep or goat that

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The Harvest of His Promises

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” – Isaiah 55:10,11 I love this promise from the Lord as recorded by Isaiah because it reminds us that His Word never returns void. I think many of us become discouraged when we faithfully apply ourselves to the things of God and yet don’t experience the freedom and breakthrough we’ve been longing for. We pray, seek, and trust, but we still endure a prolonged wilderness that leaves us wondering if He’s there at all. It can be equally as

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