Step Up!

Joshua 14:¹² “…You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak (giants) living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.” (emphasis added).

Now pause, read the anchor scripture again, and pay attention to Caleb’s response. Why? It is because very often our response is, ‘if the Lord is with me, He will drive them out of the land’. No! God will not drive the giants out of the land, you have to do it yourself. There are things that you need to do. Some of us are sleeping too much, you need to stay awake and drive poverty out of your land. What is that skill you need to get? You need to stay awake and get it. But some Christians, in their minds are saying, I need to do vigils. No! Am I saying you should not have vigils? No. I love vigils. I love to pray. I encourage you to pray.

But that is the dichotomy of our confusion. Sometimes because we do not understand how these two things work, “If the Lord is with me, I will drive them out”. There is a quote that was making the rounds on social media some time back. I do not know who originated it, but it is thought-provoking, and it speaks to this issue. The quote reads, “Africans are always calling on the God of Israel to fight their battles, meanwhile Israel is fighting their own battles with missiles.” It is almost like a slap on the face of Africans. Do not get me wrong, it is good to call on the God of Elijah to send down fire. But guess what? Israelites are not praying for the God of Elijah to send down fire right now. Instead, they are sending missiles to block every enemy attack.

Israel is the smallest nation, but no nation on earth can try Israel today, military-wise. Israel is surrounded by enemy nations, but nobody can take Israel down. Why? It is because they know that if God is with us, then we will… since we have the covenant. Israel is not wondering if they have the covenant, they know they have the covenant. So, since they have the covenant, then they will develop missiles that will take out XYZ countries if they try to attack them. Have you heard of the Six-Day War? All the surrounding nations ganged up against Israel, but in six days Israel discomfited all of them, and the war ended in six days.

Israel does not spend its time right now doing vigils. Israel spends its time right now having medical breakthroughs and developing weapons. Should we stop doing vigils? Not at all. But the challenge is, what will deliver your mountains is not vigils, it is the ‘weapons’. You have fasted, and done vigils back-to-back, right now the forces of heaven are behind you. As long as Israel was cowering in the tent, Goliath did not come down. David had to step up and take down Goliath.

Prayer (song): I am able to go up and take my mountains, to possess the land from Jordan to the sea, though the giants may be on the way to hinder, God will surely give me victory. Amen!