But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. - 1 Corinthians 15:57
Reading 1 Kings 20 and touched upon in “Advantages Toward Victory” are the plusses God gives us to help gain the victory against the forces of evil. By accepting Jesus, there is grace, the Holy Spirit, and the power to be victorious. These are big benefits God gives to His people.
Do not refuse to see that it is God who makes it happen. Without our Creator, we are just like the lyrics to the song Dust In The Wind by Kansas, but because of God, we are molded as the vessel to contain the Spirit and to fulfill God’s Plan For Us.
By accepting Jesus, there is grace, the Holy Spirit, and the power to be victorious. These are advantages God gives to His people. Today, we are reading 1 Kings 20, and will be given an example of God giving the advantage to His side.
Ahab was king of the northern kingdom of Israel who was not a good king because he built a temple and altar to Baal. Another bad king named Ben-Hadad was the king of Aram who also worshiped many gods instead of the ONE true God.
Ben-Hadad was powerful and initiated war with Ahab. He was arrogant and did not prepare for the war. We note that God gave the Israelites the advantage with information, courage, and set things up for victory.
I’m reminded of a major league baseball player and coach from 1946 through 1989 named Yogi Berra who often made humorous but wise comments called Yogi-isms. One example is “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
The photo above is the Baylor vs TCU game in 2014, Baylor was behind by 21 points with only about 11 minutes left in the game but came back to win 61-58. The lesson is that if you hang in there and try your best, you leave yourself a chance to win. In football, you try to win each play and in life you try to win each moment.
Another Yogi-ism is, “He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious.” What he was talking about is being a switch hitter. Switch hitters have an advantage because the pitcher is not effective with a curve ball when a batter hits from the left side against a right handed hitter or a batter hits from the right side against a left handed pitcher.
That’s what God does for us. He give us the advantage to win at life. God was for Israel and wanted Ahab to change his ways so he sends a prophet to give advice. God is seeking to teach Ahab that there is no other God except the ONE true God.
We note in today’s passage that God gave the advantages to Ahab and gives Ben-Hadad into Ahab’s hands. With God’s help, Ahab’s army defeats Ben-Hadad’s army. But we also note later in the passage that Ahab shows mercy on Ben-Hadad so he spares his life and makes a treaty so Ben-Hadad was set free.
One thought is that Ahab spared Ben-Hadad’s life because they had a common conviction to idol worship. At the end of today’s passage, a prophet of God condemns Ahab for making the treaty and setting Ben-Hadad free. Ahab’s attitude towards God’s judgment is one of anger and gloom. God had helped but Ahab still didn’t accept His help for the future.
This day, we pray for help in making a difference as we wage this war with the forces of evil. We have the Truth on our side and are fortified with the Word to fight the good fight. We are on the winning team and have a game plan which includes being kind to our neighbor, praying for the church, and lifting up teammates with encouragement. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
A takeaway from Psalm 71 is to never get down because a new day will come around. God’s past action is a basis for hope. When God has been faithful and made good on promises, tell others about it so you produce hope for others. Hand over to the next generation an optimistic future shaped by your hope.
A poem posted at my other blog Step Ahead is inspired by the post “Power Hitter” which gave some good suggestions for leadership. If there is pressure to perform because of taking on a leadership role, pass it on to God who will be a helper that is interested in freeing up stress and enhancing the ability to be a power hitter in life.
As a batter in baseball keeps their eyes on the ball, we are to fix our eyes on God and humbly accept His power. As the song Fix My Eyes by King & Country suggest, talk the talk, walk the walk, live life for another, take time for a brother.
The Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. - Matthew 16:27
Reading in 1 Kings 19 with thoughts shared in “The Rewards Await Those Who Know God Is Great”, there was a contrasting facet of Elijah’s personality. He had demonstrated great faith and courage but then became afraid and went wayward for a while.
Everyone can reach a point of exhaustion both mentally and physically. That’s when we must continue to believe that God is present so lift your voice to Him; take in an old song like Carry On Wayward Son by Kansas and pray that His angels and your friends touch you with refreshing encouragement.
This Day With God - A Spiritual Journey 