Ask God for His Strength & Walk On
Three days after media (both mass and social medias) spoke of the recent senseless murders, causing us to plead: LORD, give us strength.
While the world was rocked by the killings of the last few days, many have made this a political discussion, about taking up this issue or that one. However, evil is never about political issues; evil always derives from spirituality. Therefore, to answer the question: Why, LORD, we find ourselves going to the only source we ever need: the Good News of God.
When the people of God were led by Moses out of Egypt, and after they crossed the Red Sea, they were attacked by the Amalekites. These were people of the desert, nomadic people, brutal people, and they lived (at the time) in the path the LORD was leading His servant Moses to go. This was the desert land, that territory that lay between Egypt and Canaan.
If you are a believer and have just read the preceding sentences, the paragraph, then please read again and ask God: LORD, lead me to see with spiritual eyes of clarity.
In the biblical book of Deuteronomy, we read Israel’s history after the Exodus, and we read:
“Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt,
(Deuteronomy 25: 17-19 NASB)
how he met you along the way and attacked among you
all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary;
and he did not fear God.
Therefore it shall come about when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.”
Canaan is not paradise, not heaven & Egypt is not lostness, as in not being saved. Canaan and Egypt are actual places on a geographical map. The Amalekites were real people, those who (according to Genesis 36) descended from Esau, the firstborn son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham. If we pause to go back to the beginning, we see the promise of God as we read the word of the LORD:
“And I will bless those who bless you,
(Genesis 12: 3 NASB)
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
To better understand, let us see the Amalekites. Who are these people?
- Genesis 36:12—Amalek was a son of Eliphaz, who was the son of Esau, who was an Edomite.
- Exodus 17: 8-16—The battle Amalek fought against Israel, when Aaron and Hur held up Moses’s hands, for when his hands were raised up high, the Israelites were winning the battle.
- Numbers 14: 43-45—The Amalekites and the Canaanites were before the Israelites, and the children of God were struck and beat down, for they (God’s people) had turned their back from following the LORD.
- The 1st Book of Samuel 15: 2-3—The LORD commands King Saul “Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, . . .”, but Saul disobeys, sparing some (verse 3a).
- The Book of Esther 9: 5-10—At the citadel in Susa, the Jews destroyed their enemies (over 500 men) and “the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews’ enemy; . . .” a man who wanted to destroy God’s people.
All of these people, battles, and events occurred because evilness and darkness has existed in the world since the beginning of time. Although these biblical references continue to reveal the evilness of the Amalekites, there is something greater we must see.
The Amalekites hated God; they had no fear of the greatness of Almighty God. They tried over and over to destroy God’s people. Again and again, they attempted to stop God’s plan, God’s promise He gave to Abraham to bless the nations, all the families of the whole earth. On the day Jesus shared the Last Supper with His disciples, when He stooped down to wash their feet, Jesus spoke.
“Jesus answered and said to him [to Peter],
(The Gospel According to John 13: 7 NASB)
“What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.”
So, in closing, we are reminded how God is always at work, even when we cannot see it with our eyes. We are to always be of good courage, remembering that we are not home—Yet. Let us remember daily to walk by faith, and not by what we see (or read in media). YES, since the beginning of time, the promise of God has remained unchanged. Therefore, let all of GOD’S PEOPLE—
- Remain steadfast.
- Let us not straggle behind where the enemy attacks, nor give in to our fatigue.
- But, let us fear God.
- May we not lose our motivation to be the hands and feet of Jesus. &
- May we ever press on in the work of evangelism we have received, continually praying for divine opportunities to speak Jesus into this lost world.
In faithfulness to our Savior and Lord—KING JESUS—Ask God for His strength & walk on!