Three ways to recover all this new year

Holding the lamp, Zerah was shocked to see the devastation. There was debris everywhere. Tables overturned, chairs with broken legs, coffers and stalls empty. It was clear that their little community had been plundered by unseen enemies. They had believed they were safe, that all was well but in the thick of the night, in the silent moments, the enemy had sneaked in and wreaked havoc.

Every thing he had, all the things he had been saving for the last few years were all gone, his sweat and toil with nothing to show for it.

A wail pierced the air, deep and aching, that could have only come from a well of pain in the pit of the stomach. And then there more screams, harrowing and fleeting. Zerah turns around to see the few remaining men on their knees, crying with fists hitting the earth. Zerah’s hands creep to the neck of his cloth and he rips it, the sound of the tear dulled by the shrieks against the twilight.

He falls to the floor, with his face up to heaven.

Will this be the end for him? Should he give up now? As Zerah’s thoughts drift to the possibilites, he cries out to the heavens and asks his God for help. Then the words come to him, a calming whisper to his tortured soul:

‘Pursue, overtake and recover all…’

 

An adaptation from 1 Samuel 30: 1-19

…………………………..

 

For many of us, we have experienced some form of loss. Loss of something or someone we deeply treasured and loved. And this loss took something out of you, it may have taken your joy, your laughter and even your reason to smile. It may have left you cynical and pessimistic.

But I need you to know that’s not the end of your story. 1 Samuel 30, is a beautiful story of triumph, of God coming to the rescue at the dire minute, when all was lost and restoration was impossible.

David not only pursued his enemies but he overtook them and recovered everything that had been taken from him. Verse 19 records that “Nothing was missing…” Amen

You may be wondering why this story and why now. When I started fleshing out the outline for this post, the story of King David in 1 Samuel 30 came to mind and I felt a strong sense in my spirit that the season to ‘pursue, overtake and recover all’ had come.

Dear friend, I believe strongly that 2019 will be our year to recover all. But before you go out screaming ‘I will recover all’ or brand me as dodgy Christian writer, let us consider the lessons in this incredible story through the three “P’s“.

Pray

There were two things that changed the course of the story in 1 Samuel 30:

1. David found strength in the Lord his God when all hope was lost(v.6)
2. David inquired of the Lord on what he should do next (v.8)

These two things changed the tide of David’s story and the result of the raid over his land. Many times, we speak the blessings in the Bible without considering what happened before. We choose the parts that seem nice, easy and acceptable.

At a time when sorrow and pain was knocking on David’s door, he chose to lean on God for strength. For many of us, it is in those moments that we run from God. We blame God and do everything else rather than trust Him.

I will be the first to tell you that David did an incredible thing. I don’t think I would have remembered God in that moment of pain, yet David chose to trust God.

No wonder he was called the man after God’s own heart.

David got the insight to chase after his enemies because he asked God and God told him to go ahead. I believe I need to repeat this for emphasis…David asked God. He did not choose to do it himself. He did not check his star sign for that day, he did not check to see if the weather was good, if he had enough money in his account, or if the car was working. All that mattered was what God was saying.

Sis, what have you asked God today? Have you inquired of him? Have you sought to know what He is saying about the New Year? Please take a few moments over the next few days to inquire of the Lord.

“Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Mark 11:24

What have you lost? Maybe like me you believe you’ve lost some time or that the years have not been too kind. May be you had hoped to have achieved so much more. Take it all to the Lord in prayer, ask him for restoration and for strength to do His will.

Plan

Every action needs a strategy. When you have gotten the green light from your prayer session, there is a need to consider the things you will need to achieve your goal, including the resources, the time and everything else necessary

David set the course with his men to recover all. They checked their resources and they asked questions to get a better understanding of their opponent.

“They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David…David asked him, Who do you belong to? Where do you come from?” He said, “I am an Egyptian, the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me when I became ill three days ago…David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”…He led David down…”

1 Samuel 30: 11, 13, 15

Planning stage will mean doing our research, and most especially counting the cost of the actions we need to take.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? “

Luke 14:28

We need to know what the vision or goal will require of us. We cannot go blindly simply because we believe that God says we should go. We too must do our part (which will be different for each of us), to bring our goals to fruition.

 

Pursue

Our restoration is ignited by our actions, which all starts with our faith. We have to believe that restoration is possible even where the reality and circumstances around us say otherwise. We need to believe in God and not the things we see for faith is the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen.

God longs for us to see beyond our circumstances, to see beyond the envelope of darkness that might be shrouding our miracle. He is the God that said let there be light and there was light. Genesis 1:3-4

Here are a few things we have to remember about the pursuit:

– We will be called to pursue even when the odds are against us.

– The pursuit will require some work from us

“David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away except four hundred who rode off in camels and fled.”

(v.17)

– The pursuit will not be easy

– People may leave you along the way

“David and six hundred men with him came to the Besor Valley, where some stayed behind. Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.”

(V.9-10)

– The pursuit may take longer than expected or may happen very quickly

– the pursuit will leave no doubt that it was truly God that brought the restoration and it was not by our actions

Let me share this little testimony with you: A few months ago, I had been struggling with a writing task. It was one of those tasks that I had carried around for weeks but just couldn’t finish. At some point, I felt like all hope was lost. it was at this point I went to God and asked for his help. I told him that if this task was something he wanted me to do then I needed his help. Not long after this prayer, I completed the task. I did in 2 hours what I had been struggling with for over two weeks. It could only have been God.

Perhaps, you’ve had a similar experience. A time where it seemed impossible until you took it to God. Of course, the problem with us is that we often go to God after the fact rather than from the beginning but I believe we can do things differently this New Year.

So, let us start every plan and goal with God. Let us inquire of him, whether we should pursue, overtake and recover all. He is the only one that knows the end from the beginning and the only one that knows where our focus and energies should lie.

Whatever happens this year, I pray you never forget to trust God and believe that he is the one that can empower you to recover all.

“and David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?” Pursue them,” he answered. “You will certainly overtake them and without fail recover all.”

1 Samuel 30:8

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