“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NIV)
Steele and I had a great opportunity to travel to Iowa last week to teach at a conference for a large evangelical church. It was wonderful! God reminded me of the times in my life that I have looked back on and have seen His amazing kindness and overwhelming power in the midst of difficulties. He has taken some of my darkest circumstances and turned them around in astonishing ways. Even though it’s easy to look back now and be amazed, it’s not always easy to apply faith in the MIDST of the trials.
This was true of David and his men in the Book of Samuel. They faced overwhelming odds as they came upon the dreaded Amalekite army (who had just destroyed David’s city of Ziklag and taken all their wives and children captive). We pick up the story in 1 Samuel 30:16-20:
“And there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day, and none of them got away, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and fled. David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”
Wow, what a turnaround! The recovery was complete. Everything that had been stolen was recovered. No one was missing. PLUS, they acquired massive amounts of plunder! God is truly a “table-turning” God!
Do you find yourself in some challenging circumstances? Does it seem like it would take a miracle to change things? If so, do you trust in your all-powerful God? You should! He can completely and radically flip your “bad” situation into an amazing victory in less than twenty-four hours. He did it for David — He can do it for you!
Don’t give up when things are difficult — the best is yet to come!
Watching to see,
Bill
Posted in A Word from the Pastor