Victory at
Ziklag
by
Gene Easley
After running for so long one just wants to stop and rest. With death but
one step behind and the fear of suddenly being caught by the enemy, all
one is wanting is to find some place where things will be different.
This
was the picture of David as King Saul mercilessly pursued him.
David had not chosen to be anointed by God. It was God Who had chosen
David. It was not personal ambition that placed David in a situation with
a price on his head.
Does God make everything easy for us? Will our Christian life be one
continuous high until at last we are raptured away into His eternal glory?
If you read the Bible
accounts, you won't think so!
Some have found themselves making choices between bowing to idols or being
cast into a fiery furnace. Daniel was told to stop praying or be served as
the next meal to a den of hungry lions.
The Christian does possess promises of love and care and the constant
companionship of the Lord. But at the same time, one has entered a
battlefield when he or she receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
When Samuel anointed young David to become king of
As a result of his being targeted, David found himself living in the land
of the Philistines. Here, he could be safe from Saul's armies forever, and
it worked for a while until Ziklag became another heartache for David.
The warring David had taken his army of men to help the Philistines in a
battle with none other than
On leaving, David had made a very grave error. He had left Ziklag without
protection from other invading armies. The Amalekites saw their
opportunity and invaded the city, taking hostages and leaving Ziklag in a
burning heap.
When David and his men returned, their hearts were devastated by what they
saw. The sudden tragedy was more than a heart could bear. After the
initial shock, anger rose up in the hearts of David's men. They wanted to
kill David. Their wives and children were gone, all was lost, and it was
David's fault. The stunned feeling of shock combined with great remorse
sent David to his knees.
How merciless and pitiless are the devil's attacks! How
devastating they can leave us! How powerless we can feel! But
there is hope despite the hopelessness forced upon us. David encouraged
himself in the Lord! It is in
situations like this that we Christians learn that we can face our
difficulties in a different way than the world faces them. We don't have
to fall apart when our world falls apart.
David’s men wanted to stone him. They
needed some way to vent their anger and frustration.
David had little defense. He
resolved to find a place of prayer. The
most dedicated of Christians will find themselves in situations that have
no easy answers. The greatest
leaders will experience the worst of failures, and often it will be the
result of their own decisions. But
don’t lose hope! There is a
place where we can encourage ourselves in the Lord.
Devastation is an opportunity for our faith to be tested for its
genuineness. Do we really
believe that God is our Helper? Do
we really believe that God can do anything?
Do we really believe if we call upon Him that He will fight our
battles--even the impossible ones?
David found answers in his place of prayer.
Out of the blackness and darkness of David’s midnight hour, God
began to answer his prayer and granted him new victory in his heart.
God told David not only to pursue his enemies, but also that he
would overtake them and “without fail recover all” (1 Kings 30:8).
Just a Word from God put the fight back in David’s heart and in the
hearts of his men. Just a
little answer to prayer put life back on course and sent the devil
fleeing. David overcame the
Amalekites, rescued the women and children who had been taken captives,
gained a huge spoil from the enemies camp, and went home shouting.
The lesson to learn, child of God, is don’t give up when your world
falls apart! God can fight
your battle for you and give you more than you had before.
A short time after Ziklag, David found himself being crowned as King of Judah. How quickly his world turned around! How wonderful the deliverance that God brings! It might look bad today, but encourage yourself in the Lord. He may have you serving Him in ways you would never have believed. He is still God at Ziklag!
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