04/05/2022 - THE BIGGEST BATTLE

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And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord; for Jabin had nine hundred chariots of iron, and for twenty years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel. Judges 4:3

Nothing the Israelites tried to do against Sisera worked. The latter, using the iron chariots, which were like sickles attached to his wheels, prevented anyone who dared to fight against Jabin’s usurpation of Canaan from approaching. Then, God’s people made the wise decision to cry out to the Lord, who rose up to give His own deliverance from Canaanite captivity. The Most High waits for your supplication, in order to send the help, you need (2 Samuel 22:7)!

A man’s greatest battle is when he realizes his doomed situation and seeks the Lord with all his heart. Thus, having received divine guidance, he takes his place in Christ and commands evil to retreat. Without the faith that comes from hearing the Word (Romans 10.17), his prayer does not go beyond the ceiling, but once he has got right with God – he has the power to demand the problem to go away and see it fulfilled (Mark 11:23).

Jabin represented the kingdom of darkness, which violently oppresses those who fall into its hands. It´s worth remembering that the Most High´s command was for Israel to dispossess the nations living in the land that had been given to them. However, some managed to stay without being attacked by the Lord’s people. The result: they became thorns in the back of the children of Israel, as in the case of Canaan. Why didn’t the Israelites do as God commanded? Sheer disobedience!

If we examine closely, we have allowed wrong things to exist in us, and this is serious. The reasons we give to explain our lack of love for God are useless. If we truly loved Him, we would not listen to the devil (John 14:21). There is no justification for sin; it is necessary to speak the truth and acknowledge that all iniquity is nothing but an act of rebellion. The Lord´s mercy is the cause of our not being consumed (Lamentations 3:22).

What happened in the Old Testament and also with Jesus is a lesson for the saved (1 Corinthians 10:6, 11). No matter what temptation comes your way, if you walk in the Spirit and fear God, you will never fall into it (1 Corinthians 10:13). However, when you weigh in certain proposals and give in to them, you will sell yourself to the enemy. The Lord sold the Israelites to Jabin because they failed to obey divine commands. The Bible declares, “Do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:27). Follow this guidance and live!

Jabin bought or made 900 iron chariots to maintain his occupation in the land given to the Israelites. It seemed that this would last forever. Now, the wiles of the evil kingdom in your life will last until you cry out to God for a solution. Israel prayed, and the Lord answered them. If you also pray to Him for an end to your captivity, you will rise out of the mire and live once again in the divine presence. Do this now. Pray!

The enemy is violent in maintaining what he considers to be his, but all his efforts fall flat when the Lord lifts up His people. This is the Scripture´s instruction to lift us up from the fall: Say to the king and to the queen mother, “Humble yourselves; Sit down, for your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.” (Jeremiah 13:18). And they did not humble themselves!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares