Do you realize you can pursue, overtake, and recover all that the devil has tried to steal from you?
What does this mean, you ask? What has the devil stolen from you?
Well, lets take a look, shall we?
With mounting lay-offs, escalating foreclosure rates, and rising gas prices….
With morally bankrupt pastors, crooked government officials, corrupt business leaders….
With more children being forced to grow up without a father, with more marriages falling apart, with more parents faced with the untimely burial of their young due to rampant violence….
With all that is sacred failing us...why, it’s enough to make you want to give up.
The devil has been busy in all of these areas, roaming about, seeking whom he can devour. But God wants you to know that in spite of what the devil tries to pull, you can recover all.
There resides within you an undeniable resiliency that allows you to recover from all the terrible atrocities that befall us every day.
Despite your suffering of the slings and arrows that are part and parcel of this thing called life, you are divinely equipped to summon the courage to rise again...to rise, pursue, and recover all that Satan seeks to steal from you in this life. The life of the Bible’s King David is a great example in the use of courage to recover all.
Now by no means was David a perfect man. In fact, King David committed some of the most detestable sins known to man.
He was an adulterer. He commissioned the murder of his best friend. His later life was a profile in arrogance run amuck. But no matter his sins, David maintained his knowledge that God was always ready to lead and guide him. The Bible illustrates how David benefited from knowing how to seek and trust God.
The Book of 1 Samuel, Chapter 30, sets the scene of one of David’s most challenging moments during his reign as king.
David had just returned from battle to find not only his family, but the entire camp – all of his soldiers’ women and children - taken captive. When his men learned that their families had been kidnapped, and their possessions stolen, they began to rally against David.
The men wanted to stone David to death because, as their leader, they held him responsible for the predicament their loved ones were in. They reasoned that had they not been out conquering other tribes, they would have been at home to defend their families.
Now a situation like this would deliver the average person to their wits end. The common man wouldn’t know what to do. Hiding or suicide would probably be foremost in the average person’s mind. Trying to recover would be the last thing on the average man's mind.
But David wasn’t the average man, and he wasn’t ruled by his mind. David lived by the spirit of God that dwelled within him. And it was David’s spirit that overruled his mind and caused him to seek counsel from the Lord.
And what did God tell David to do? Did God tell David to give up? To chalk it up as a loss? Did God tell David that he’d live to fight another day, or that he’d get ‘em next time?
Of course not! God told David to chase after his enemies…, to “Pursue…overtake them (his enemies)… and recover all.” 1 Samuel 30:8 Emphasis Added.
And that’s exactly what David did. He rallied his men, caught the perpetrators, and rescued not only his family and possessions, but the families and possessions of every one of his men as well.
David pursued, overtook, and recovered all! David knew his purpose lied not in defeat, but in ultimate victory. That knowledge is what allowed him to move confidently as he sought to obey God and pursue, overtake, and recover all.
King David’s life provides a valuable lesson for us today. Because many of us are faced with similar ‘what do I do now?’ dilemmas that David faced, our response should be exactly the same as David’s was.
We must seek to recover all that the devil has sought to take from us.
No matter what it is you may have thought you lost, no matter what may have knocked you down, no matter who may have hurt or betrayed you, you have to get up, pursue, overtake, and recover all the blessings that the devil of this world is trying to take from you.
You can’t give up the fight for your right to thrive and prosper in life because you may have experienced a couple of set backs. The bout isn’t over simply because you’ve lost a round or two.
Your future is full of glorious tomorrows, and your breakthrough is just around the corner. If you choose to hang on and hang in, you will be victorious. You will recover all.
No matter what may have happened to you yesterday, God has assured that you can overcome, recover, and live the victorious life He intended for you. So determine to be encouraged in your heart today, because the victory is yours for the taking. A lot of people today are allowing themselves to get down in their spirit because of everything that’s going on around them.
Whether it’s the economy, politics, or personal relationships, external forces are wearing on many people and causing them to feel like there’s no hope.
But that’s not true at all! Your future is as bright as you want it to be.
You cannot allow the external mishaps prevalent in society today to derail the internal forces needed to realize your personal victories in life. You can’t let the missteps of others to disrupt your moral compass and dampen the glow of greatness that resides inside of you. After all, society doesn’t govern the affairs of your heart, or the ultimate course of your life.
Only you do!
JEREMIAH 27:11 New Living Translation, “'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good, and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’"
God said he knows the plans he has for you – plans to prosper and not harm you. Plans to give you a wonderful future and a great hope.
A mindset like this is very much in opposition to what the world wants you to believe. You know well that the forces of our society are intent to focus only on the negatives of life.
So it comes down to one question. Who are you going to believe? The God of hope, or the world of doom?
You have a daily choice to make about the course of your destiny – whether to the good or the evil. Whether to live as a victim, or whether you will rise up and recover all that is due you. No one can stop you from adopting the ‘doom and gloom’ mentality, if that’s what you want to do. After all, it is your right.
But as for me, I’ll live by the advice Joshua gave the people of Israel when they began to get restless, despite knowing all the miracles God had already performed for them.
JOSHUA 24:15, “But if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, then choose today who you will serve. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
What does this mean, you ask? What has the devil stolen from you?
Well, lets take a look, shall we?
With mounting lay-offs, escalating foreclosure rates, and rising gas prices….
With morally bankrupt pastors, crooked government officials, corrupt business leaders….
With more children being forced to grow up without a father, with more marriages falling apart, with more parents faced with the untimely burial of their young due to rampant violence….
With all that is sacred failing us...why, it’s enough to make you want to give up.
The devil has been busy in all of these areas, roaming about, seeking whom he can devour. But God wants you to know that in spite of what the devil tries to pull, you can recover all.
There resides within you an undeniable resiliency that allows you to recover from all the terrible atrocities that befall us every day.
Despite your suffering of the slings and arrows that are part and parcel of this thing called life, you are divinely equipped to summon the courage to rise again...to rise, pursue, and recover all that Satan seeks to steal from you in this life. The life of the Bible’s King David is a great example in the use of courage to recover all.
Now by no means was David a perfect man. In fact, King David committed some of the most detestable sins known to man.
He was an adulterer. He commissioned the murder of his best friend. His later life was a profile in arrogance run amuck. But no matter his sins, David maintained his knowledge that God was always ready to lead and guide him. The Bible illustrates how David benefited from knowing how to seek and trust God.
The Book of 1 Samuel, Chapter 30, sets the scene of one of David’s most challenging moments during his reign as king.
David had just returned from battle to find not only his family, but the entire camp – all of his soldiers’ women and children - taken captive. When his men learned that their families had been kidnapped, and their possessions stolen, they began to rally against David.
The men wanted to stone David to death because, as their leader, they held him responsible for the predicament their loved ones were in. They reasoned that had they not been out conquering other tribes, they would have been at home to defend their families.
Now a situation like this would deliver the average person to their wits end. The common man wouldn’t know what to do. Hiding or suicide would probably be foremost in the average person’s mind. Trying to recover would be the last thing on the average man's mind.
But David wasn’t the average man, and he wasn’t ruled by his mind. David lived by the spirit of God that dwelled within him. And it was David’s spirit that overruled his mind and caused him to seek counsel from the Lord.
And what did God tell David to do? Did God tell David to give up? To chalk it up as a loss? Did God tell David that he’d live to fight another day, or that he’d get ‘em next time?
Of course not! God told David to chase after his enemies…, to “Pursue…overtake them (his enemies)… and recover all.” 1 Samuel 30:8 Emphasis Added.
And that’s exactly what David did. He rallied his men, caught the perpetrators, and rescued not only his family and possessions, but the families and possessions of every one of his men as well.
David pursued, overtook, and recovered all! David knew his purpose lied not in defeat, but in ultimate victory. That knowledge is what allowed him to move confidently as he sought to obey God and pursue, overtake, and recover all.
King David’s life provides a valuable lesson for us today. Because many of us are faced with similar ‘what do I do now?’ dilemmas that David faced, our response should be exactly the same as David’s was.
We must seek to recover all that the devil has sought to take from us.
No matter what it is you may have thought you lost, no matter what may have knocked you down, no matter who may have hurt or betrayed you, you have to get up, pursue, overtake, and recover all the blessings that the devil of this world is trying to take from you.
You can’t give up the fight for your right to thrive and prosper in life because you may have experienced a couple of set backs. The bout isn’t over simply because you’ve lost a round or two.
Your future is full of glorious tomorrows, and your breakthrough is just around the corner. If you choose to hang on and hang in, you will be victorious. You will recover all.
No matter what may have happened to you yesterday, God has assured that you can overcome, recover, and live the victorious life He intended for you. So determine to be encouraged in your heart today, because the victory is yours for the taking. A lot of people today are allowing themselves to get down in their spirit because of everything that’s going on around them.
Whether it’s the economy, politics, or personal relationships, external forces are wearing on many people and causing them to feel like there’s no hope.
But that’s not true at all! Your future is as bright as you want it to be.
You cannot allow the external mishaps prevalent in society today to derail the internal forces needed to realize your personal victories in life. You can’t let the missteps of others to disrupt your moral compass and dampen the glow of greatness that resides inside of you. After all, society doesn’t govern the affairs of your heart, or the ultimate course of your life.
Only you do!
JEREMIAH 27:11 New Living Translation, “'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good, and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’"
God said he knows the plans he has for you – plans to prosper and not harm you. Plans to give you a wonderful future and a great hope.
A mindset like this is very much in opposition to what the world wants you to believe. You know well that the forces of our society are intent to focus only on the negatives of life.
So it comes down to one question. Who are you going to believe? The God of hope, or the world of doom?
You have a daily choice to make about the course of your destiny – whether to the good or the evil. Whether to live as a victim, or whether you will rise up and recover all that is due you. No one can stop you from adopting the ‘doom and gloom’ mentality, if that’s what you want to do. After all, it is your right.
But as for me, I’ll live by the advice Joshua gave the people of Israel when they began to get restless, despite knowing all the miracles God had already performed for them.
JOSHUA 24:15, “But if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, then choose today who you will serve. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
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