Do not be terrified, or afraid of them. The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you. – Deuteronomy 1:29
Thoughts obtained from the post “Courage to Step Ahead” can help you apply your faith. With grit, determination, and looking to God who fights for you, things once thought impossible can become possible. Once proven possible, others will join in on the path to victory.
Rely on the Word as your guide, write down the steps of action, and use songs like Battle is the Lord’s by Rebecca St. James ft. Brandon Lake to encourage. God is in control so take courage in the fight as you step ahead with boldness because with God by your side, everything will turn out right.
Life can be extremely challenging so we need to have courage as we face our battles. That’s why it is so important to invite Jesus into these battles because His presence is our best weapon. When we have faith in Jesus, we have a plan for victory and the courage to step ahead. As we read Judges 11, we note that Jephthah was the eighth judge who had these qualities as a leader of the people of Israel.
In the early life of Jephthah, he was sent away in exile because his half-brothers said he was an illegitimate son of their father. While away in exile, he worked at becoming a skilled fighter with the ability to wage war. As the years passed by, the people of Gilead were in need of a leader to fight against the Ammonites so they went to Jephthah for help.
At first Jephthah refused to help the people of Gilead but then accepted once the people listened to him and agreed to give him their full allegiance if he would defeat the Ammonites. Since Jephthah had gained the skills that the people needed, he began his strategy to wage war against the Ammonites.
His first action as leader was to dispute the territorial borders. The Ammonites had claimed that the region was originally their land and they had the right to get it back but Jephthah told them about the history. He defended Israel’s right to the land and that the Ammonites had no claim to it so the dispute of territorial borders persisted between the Gileadites and the Ammonites.
Jephthah knew the history and argued with the Ammonites that the ONE true God gave Israel the land over 300 years ago and that if they wanted the land back, they needed to ask the help of their own gods who they worshipped.
Even though Jephthah was a highly motivated person that had gained the needed skills along with the courage to take action, he felt he had to make a vow to God in exchange for victory. The vow was to sacrifice the first thing that walked through the door of his house to meet him after the battle was won (v. 31). After victory, his daughter was the first to walk through the door to meet him. She was his only child but they both kept their vow to the Lord so this ended the clan of Jephthah.
Fortunately for us in current times, all we have to do is accept Christ as Savior. We don’t need to make a vow with a blood sacrifice for victory. He’s already given us the victory by accepting the sacrifice of His Son and all we need to have is the courage to carry out God’s Plan For Us.
This day with You Lord, we have the determination and believe You will help us face our battles. You will set things up for us to accomplish things that we once thought impossible. Others will begin to follow once they see that with You by our side, victory is guaranteed. Amen.
This poem is inspired by Numbers 14 when Caleb and Joshua understood the advantage of having God on their side. They understood that they were touched by divine power and protected from enemies. This poem stirs us to have the same mindset and believe in God’s power!
Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. Rather, worship the LORD your God; it is He who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies. – 2 Kings 17:38-39
Highlighted in the post “Listen and Follow” is that it takes no effort for our bad habits like a lack of focus, discipline, faith, etc. to zap our energy so the bad habits set in. We become separated from God.
There is a way to reconnect! Listen to the song Christ in Me by Jeremy Camp and remember that because of Christ in us, we are just one step away from being recharged to do the amazing. This day with God, have the desire to listen and make the decision to follow God’s Plan for Us.
Much of our life is directed by the low standards of this world rather than God’s higher standard. Success is defined by lofty incomes, nice cars, or an expensive house instead of vast spiritual assets like faith, hope, and love! This day with God, let us seek the spiritual assets found in Judges 10 as we listen and follow.
The people followed the ways of God under the leadership of Tola for 23 years and Jair for 22 years. Then, they fell into their old bad habits of following other gods. It’s easy to fall into this trap because following idols requires little effort. Unfortunately in life, negative habits are the default settings to mediocrity but the good habits that lead to knowing God like the desire to listen and a decision to follow requires effort.
The problem in following idols is that God is pushed aside and guidance is no longer available. Situations are also not arranged for sure victory. With the Israelites, God was angry and sold them into the hands of their enemies who oppressed them.
The people of Israel were in great distress so they cried out to the Lord for help but God was no longer with them. He had saved them before but they had forgotten His ways so He no longer saved them (v. 13). The people ultimately got to a point of despair and they had a complete change of heart. They confessed their sin and agreed to get rid of their foreign gods to serve the ONE true God.
We have good news today because of Christ! We are in right standing and will be able to step ahead in powerful ways. We are listening and ready to follow the plan that will lead us to places we never could imagine. Help us to stay the course even with road blocks. We now receive Your grace, maintain hope in Your promise, and believe we are gaining spiritual treasures step by step. Amen.
This Day With God - A Spiritual Journey 
