Don't worry about it
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Several years ago, in my old neighborhood, a man would walk his two dogs every day. One was black and the other was white; both were so cute. I’m not sure what breed they were, but they were small—about the size of a Yorkshire terrier, Shih Tzu, or Pomeranian puppy.
Whenever I saw the dogs, I would say hi. They were usually calm and friendly. Well, one afternoon, I guess the black dog was in a bad mood. Out of nowhere, as I was on my way to my car, she charged at me and started barking and growling. I could see her razor-sharp teeth.
I started laughing.
“What are you fussing for?” I bent down and asked. “Are you trying to scare me?”
She kept on growling. But moments later, her owner called her. She ran away on her short legs and quit all that barking instantly. I got a good belly laugh seeing this little dog that was about as scary as a furry bunny rabbit trying to attack!
When I was much younger, however, I would not have been laughing. You see, I was scared of all dogs. It didn’t even matter if it was just a tiny puppy. In my mind, dogs equaled danger, period. All dogs wanted to eat me I thought. As I grew older, I realized that was ridiculous. Some dogs have a big bark, but they won’t bite.
I can relate to this spiritually, too. When I was less mature in my walk of faith, I was the scary type. Whenever Satan started barking, meaning attacking and coming against me in full force, I would get nervous. I would be full of fear, anxiety and worry. I was instantly defeated in my thinking. But as I grew in my understanding of who God is and who I am in God, I stopped letting Satan scare me. I realized that the power of God is working in my life and He is constantly fighting for me, so I have no reason to fear.
Today I was reading Joshua 10. In this chapter, we see how God was blessing Israel in great ways. They were fighting and beating all of their enemies. This winning streak made the folks that didn’t like Israel nervous. And when the Gibeonites, who were very good fighters, became friends with Israel, that was the last straw for Israel’s foes.
A man named Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, was mad about all the power Israel had. He was so upset and intimidated that he came up with a plan to put a stop to this. Adoni-Zedek, whose name means “Lord of Justice,” decided that he was going to get justice alright. He gathered some other kings, created his own alliance, and put his plan in motion to attack Gibeon.
There were now five kings and all their troops in position to attack Gibeon, which made the Gibeonites nervous. Joshua 10:6 says the Gibeonites sent word to Joshua, saying, “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”
Joshua came with his entire army, including his best fighting men. When he showed up, Joshua also had a message from the Lord for Gibeon. He said, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”
Wow. That’s an awesome word. Not one of them in the entire alliance of those five kings would be able to stand against the Gibeonites. It wasn’t because the enemy had no skill or power; but it was because the Lord had spoken a word and was on Gibeon’s side.
When the Lord is on your side, it doesn’t matter when the enemy wages war against you. It doesn’t matter how skilled or tactical he is. The arrows and darts won’t penetrate. The attack won’t work! Somebody ought to get excited that it won’t work.
“It might look bad, but it’s going to turn out for your good because the outcome is already rigged in your favor.”
Joshua organized a successful sneak attack against Gibeon’s opponents, killing large numbers of them. Then, he put them on the run. Not only that, but then God decided to show out. He rained down large hailstones from Heaven and the Bible says, “More of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.” And all of the kings that conspired against Israel’s allies died.
The moral of the story is, when God is for you, you don’t have to give any time or energy to worrying about what the enemy is trying to do against you. Don’t you know you’re protected? So what if the enemy tries to gang up on you, put fear in you, surround you with chaos, and cause all sorts of problems for you. You are favored. You are treasured. You are chosen. You are destined to be victorious in all things. Don’t waste your energy stressing. Rest. God’s got this. Don’t worry about it.
Even if the enemy has waged war against your family, your finances, your health, your relationships, and ultimately, your divine destiny, it doesn’t change the fact that he is a defeated foe. You have victory. God fights for you. That attack the enemy planned and plotted will backfire.
Deuteronomy 20:4 ESV, which is what I’m stirring into your cup of inspiration reminds you of this truth: “For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”
As you drink down the contents of your cup, know that God is fighting for you against the enemy right now. The enemy of oppression will not win; the enemy of depression will not win; the enemy of lack will not win; the enemy of disease will not win. Whatever hindrance stands between you and what God has purposed for your life will utterly fall.
Don’t be intimidated or afraid. This battle is won. Victory is already yours.
Now let’s pray.
God, the enemy has been attacking me with great force. But I know Your power is greater. So I rebuke fear, worry, intimidation, nervousness and anxiousness. I will stand firmly on your word in great anticipation of a mighty deliverance. Thank You for always fighting for me and for guaranteeing victory every single time. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
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