Psalm 108:13 - October 28, 2009

Ps 108:13 “With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. NIV
Psalm 108:13 is simple and direct in its declaration of faith: “With God we will gain the victory!” Have you ever tried to do something in your own strength only to fail miserably? This is one of the great traps of the Christian life. Paul confronted the church at Galatia by challenging them with the statement in Gal 3:2-3 “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” NIV

Many people get a great vision from the Lord, a good business plan or ministry idea and then pursue it in their own strength. Abraham was guilty of this in the birth of his son Ishmael. The difference between his expected time frames and the fulfillment of the vision from the Lord accompanied by the pressure his wife applied to him by suggesting her servant as a surrogate mother provoked him to take matters into his own hands instead of waiting on the Lord. The end result was the birth of Ishmael and generations of tension between the two people groups that would emerge.
When there is a battle to fight or a dream to fulfill it is vital that God’s people remember that it is the Lord who gains the victory. The prophet spoke over Zerubbabel in Zech 4:6 "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.” NIV Zerubbabel was commissioned by the Lord with the task of rebuilding the temple. It was a giant undertaking that would require the strength of many men and the accumulation of abundant resources. All of this and yet the emphasis of the Lord to Zerubbabel was “your own power and ability can never fulfill this mission!” The will of the Lord is only effectively completed by the Spirit of the Lord being given place in the lives of God’s servants.
David learned how to fight the Lord’s battles by revelation. The prophets would confirm who and when to fight. They even gave direction concerning how to fight! In one instance the Lord gives them a strategy to camouflage their movements by waiting for the wind to create a disturbance in the leaves of the trees so that they could move undetected by the enemy. For another king the Lord instructed the army to send the worshippers into battle first and the Spirit of God created ambushes for the enemies of God’s people and they were destroyed before the Lord’s people ever had to swing a sword or shoot an arrow.
King Solomon taught the people of God in Prov 3:5 of the need to “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.” NASU Too often the primary problem in receiving the Lord’s victory is that we place our eyes on our circumstances and only rely on the Lord to the degree that we can control or understand what is happening in our circumstances. When the Israelites were following Moses out of Egypt they despaired when all they could see was the Egyptian army closing in. They had no concept of the great victory that the Lord had prepared for them and so the murmured in unbelief rather than standing in faith. This same pattern appears throughout the generations of God’s people recorded in the word. In the face of overwhelming circumstances there is no better response than to trust the Lord and lean upon His word! Turn to Him for the peace you need and the wisdom to win the victory. It is not your own strength that will help you today! It is with Spirit of God that will lead you to victory!