10/04/2014 - CRY FOR HELP

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Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 2 Chronicles 13.15

When Jeroboam took ten tribes from Rehoboam, son of Solomon, forming the Northern Kingdom, which remained called Israel, it was expected that Jeroboam would serve the Lord. But soon it became clear that he had turned to other gods, had a bad character and was very arrogant. When he provoked Abijah, son of Rehoboam, who was then king of Judah, Jeroboam did not expect the son not to be like the father, and war broke out.

Abijah went against him, with an army of 400,000 well-prepared men, but the king of Israel had 800,000 men. The situation was difficult and distressful, since for each soldier of Judah, there were two soldiers of Israel. Abijah acted in accordance with God’s guidance and delivered a long sermon to the rebels of the Northern Kingdom, but there were no results. Next thing he knew Jeroboam had conceived a plan that, supposedly, would put an end to Judah.

The king of Israel divided his soldiers in two groups to attack Abijah by the front and the back. When Abijah saw what the king of Israel had done, he had no alternative but to cry out for God’s help. This must serve as a lesson to us, because we must never fear the enemy and surrender. Those who trust in the Lord will always be successful in their crusades, since they will never be forsaken (Psalm 125.1).

Because he preached to the rebels, Abijah was in God’s presence, and when he became aware of his adversary’s plan, he and his people felt that they should call upon the Lord God. They were inspired by the Holy Spirit and, when they cried out, God moved into action and gave them the victory. The battle was so fierce that never again did Jeroboam threaten the Southern Kingdom—Judah. He died soon afterwards.

Still today, our heavenly Father has the power to hurt our enemies, which, by the way, are not men, but evil spirits that Satan sends to destroy God’s people (Ephesians 6.12). The secret is to remain always in the presence of the Lord. Even if your battles have prevented you from consecrating yourself to God, read his Word, speak about it to others and to yourself, then in the blink of an eye you will know what to do.

If you seek God’s help, you will see that he will deliver into your hands the evil spirits that cause diseases, destroy homes, make people fall, and he will turn his adversaries, in greater number, into nothing. That day, Judah saw the Lord destroy Israel’s army and, when they ran away, God continued to go after them and defeated them completely. The same way God acted with power in that battle, he will fight for you. Believe in that!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares