Devotionals

Response To Spiritual Warfare

Response To Spiritual Warfare

Psalm 143:3-4
NKJV
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in [a]darkness,
Like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;

My heart within me is distressed.

David was in a season of attack. He felt as though the enemy crushed his life to the ground. He felt like he was dwelling in darkness and like those long been dead. He felt overwhelmed and distressed.

When we go through spiritual warfare like David, know that we need to fight back. We shouldn't just ignore it and hope for the best. David took some actions that led to His prayer of warfare. He went to God in prayer which should be our first reaction we are facing attacks from the enemy.

5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works;
I [a]muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I spread out my hands to You;
My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah

1) David remembered the days of old

David took time to think back. Often we are being attacked by the enemy we find it difficult to see a way out but what helps us is remembering God's past deliverance. Warfare hasn't been forever, there were moments when God helped you, strengthen you, protected you etc. David could remember God's past deliverances, past deeds, and God's past words. David could've remembered when God anointed him as king. How God delivered him from bears. How God protected and exalted him. How God helped him and was him in the caves when he was being pursued by Saul. David could stop and remember these moments. We should take time to remember what God has done for us before.

The reality of the Christian walk is that we will always be attacked. There won't come a moment during this time we are living where warfare is completely gone. As we breathe, we are the enemies of the kingdom of darkness. Satan seeks and desires for us to fall but with every attack, we can remember the past attacks and how God was faithful then and will be faithful now.

2) He mediated and mused.

David took time not just to remember but mediate. We can all remember but not always mediate. To meditate is to sit, ponder and reflect deeply. Taking the time to meditate on God's character then, God's deliverance then, and the way God used all things to work for your good then.  The way God allowed situations that were heartbreaking but in the end the doors led to a breakthrough. David thought deeply and this resulted in an increased faith.

David could now remember that God was his Deliverer so God is his Deliverer. God was His provider, God is His provider. When we take time to meditate, that's usually when revelations come. Revelations of who God is and His word. That's when we remember the ways and character of God. David's focus was no longer on his present crisis but now all on God. What God does, (work of His hands) and who God is.

David maybe didn't only take time to mediate on God's works of His life. Perhaps David even thought of the great things He heard God do for Isreal as a whole or other people's lives. If you can't remember being in a situation that you were in where God delivered you, you can also meditate on what He did for others.

Testimonies of others, hearing WHAT God did for them is also something to ponder and reflect on. Reading the word of God and meditating on WHAT He did also increases faith.

3) The desire for God to do it again

The mediation led to a hunger and desire for David. When we take time to remember who God is, and what He has done for us or even others we now have to desire to see him do it again.

Often we reminisce and mediated on good memories and a desire to go back to comes. We desire to be kids again, to have those happy events and to feel that joy. Similarly, David could've had that hunger to see God's deliverance. To see God exceed His expectations again. To see God move to have. We shouldn't be satisfied with our past deliverance but should hunger for more. If God wielded and freed you before, I'd the enemy is attacking you right now again, have a hunger to see God deliver you. If the enemy is constantly attacking you, desire to see God's move again. That desire is often birthed after we meditate on what God has already done and who He is.

-etty