Mighty Men by Joan Cook
"one of the three mighty men with David...But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory." 2 Samuel 23:8-12
Recently in the middle of my devotion, the Lord showed me something that I desire to have in my life. 2 Samuel 23: 8-12 describes King David's mighty men. The first was Adino who killed eight hundred men at one time. The second was Eleazar who "arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary and his hand stuck to the sword." Last was Shammah, who "stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines." Each time the Lord brought about a victory for the mighty men.
As I was reading this I began to think about how the Bible described these three men. What did they have in their lives that made them mighty? The first thing was, of course, STRENGTH! They were each very strong. Adino was FEARLESS! If you had to fight eight hundred men at one time, you'd have to be pretty fearless or crazy! Maybe he was a little of both! Eleazar had ENDURANCE! He was not going to quit until the battle was won. So he continued to fight until his hand literally stuck to his sword. Shammah was WISDOM! He forged a plan and sat in the middle of a field waiting to attack his enemy. He knew he couldn't take them on since they had gathered together as a troop, so he drew up a plan for victory! He had wisdom to know what to do, when to proceed, and how to accomplish it!
To be a strong mighty warrior for God, we must be fearless. We must not look at our circumstances and how impossible things might be. Do not look at excuses of how it can't be done, but know God has our back! We know our enemy quite well and he wants to scare us to death by having us look and see him and retreat. But, that's not what Adino did. He looked and saw his enemy, all 800 of them! Then he looked to God and ran to the battle!
We also must have endurance if we are to accomplish our task. We can never give up! The Bible tells us not to grow weary in doing good because you will get weary! We all do! Sometimes it might seem like there's no end to your situation. You're tired of always fighting the enemy. You can't go on and do it anymore! But, with God's help, you can!!!! Just like Eleazar kept fighting even though his hand was weary and stuck to his sword, he did not quit! He wanted victory so bad that he endured until his enemies were defeated.
It is very important that we do not run ahead of what God is telling us to do. It would have been easy for Shammah to run straight into the troop of soldiers waving his sword and shouting, "Victory"! But, God didn't, in fact, He told him to do something else. We must be wise, as Shammah was wise and listen to what and how God is telling us to accomplish the task He has for us. We must make a plan to ensure victory and stick to it.
We all want to be mighty men and women of God! Adino, Eleazar, and Shammah obtained victory over their enemies and you can too. The Bible tells us that the devil is on the prowl and waiting for someone to devour. As Christians, we must put on our armor and get ready to fight. Not in your own strength, but in the strength of the Lord listening to the orders of our Commander in Chief!
Daily Prayer Focus: Pray that God will strengthen you and enable you to be a mighty man/woman of God!
On The Go Prayer Focus: The follow-up of inquirers who come publicly and make decisions for Christ, write in for materials to grow in Christ, or who visit our website looking for help in following Christ. Pray for local believers, churches, parents, and friends who all will be used of God to nurture each and every one to maturity in Christ.
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On The Go Daily Devotion For April 22, 2016
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