Little by Little

“You must destroy all the nations the Lord your God hands over to you. Show them no mercy, and do not worship their gods, or they will trap you. Perhaps you will think to yourselves, ‘How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful than we are?’ But don’t be afraid of them! Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt. Remember the great terrors the Lord your God sent against them. You saw it all with your own eyes! And remember the miraculous signs and wonders, and the strong hand and powerful arm with which he brought you out of Egypt. The Lord your God will use this same power against all the people you fear. And then the Lord your God will send terror to drive out the few survivors still hiding from you!

“No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the Lord your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, otherwise the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you. But the Lord your God will hand them over to you. He will throw them into complete confusion until they are destroyed. He will put their kings in your power, and you will erase their names from the face of the earth. No one will be able to stand against you, and you will destroy them all.

“You must burn their idols in fire, and you must not covet the silver or gold that covers them. You must not take it or it will become a trap to you, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. Do not bring any detestable objects into your home, for then you will be destroyed, just like them. You must utterly detest such things, for they are set apart for destruction."   Deuteronomy 7:16-26

Remember, the writings of the children of Israel were given to us as examples for us to follow as we walk with Christ. 

"These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age." 1 Corinthians 10:11

I watched a YouYube of Vani Marshall speaking yesterday regarding the fact that we are in a fight. Spiritual Warfare. She emphasized that we are all needing breakthroughs. We need a breakthrough with this pandemic, for starters. Plus, we desire Spiritual breakthroughs, health breakthroughs, marriage breakthroughs, family breakthroughs, addiction breakthroughs, and the list goes on. 

How do we break through? We simply keep fighting. How do we fight? We fight with our spiritual weapons. Praying the Word, travailing in prayer, and fasting. 

Prayer IS the battle. We must keep praying. We must keep fasting. We must never, ever give up. 

Maybe we are tired. Maybe we are tempted to simply accept the challenges that are present in our lives and in our families. Maybe we are tempted to embrace the idea that we are living in a fallen world and this is the way it's going to be until Jesus comes back for His people.  

I have felt this way in the past. There were times when I didn't have the energy to fight. Instead, I turned my head, looked the other way, and hoped the challenges would go away. Looking back, I made wrong decisions. Which is a whole 'nother blog!

I'm sure the Apostle Paul was tired as well.

"I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm." 1 Cor. 11:23-27

"To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment."

2 Corinthians 4:11-13

Even so, Paul never gave up. He wrote,

"Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses." 
1 Timothy 6:12

Looking back at the scripture reading in Deuteronomy, I am reminded:

1.  God has already handed us the victory. We already know that we win in the end. Still, we have to keep fighting. We can't retreat one inch. If we do, we will be entrapped by the enemy of our soul. 

2.  Even though we feel overwhelmed at times because of the enormity of the situations we are dealing with, we are instructed not to be afraid. This is critical because fear paralyzes us. 

3.  We are to remember past victories, (God's amazing power and God's miraculous signs and wonders) knowing that God will do it again on our behalf. He is continually working for our good.

4. God will drive out our enemies ahead of us, little by little (verse twenty-two). What does this mean to us?  Here's a thought... If He cleared them out all at once, we may get too comfortable and relaxed (spiritually lazy) inviting a worse fate. I don't know, this is just a thought. Anyway, sometimes there seems to be no progress happening at all. But God is working. His timing is perfect. He is doing a work in us; and at the same time, He is working around us. He is more interested in the condition of our souls than our immediate and personal comfort.

5. God will hand our enemies over to us.  He says He will throw them into complete confusion until they are all destroyed. He says no one will be able to stand against us, and we will destroy them all.

6. We are to destroy all the idols of our enemies. We are not to desire anything our enemies have. We are not to bring detestable objects into our home, for then we will be set apart for destruction just like them. 

Okay, this is crystal clear. I don't have to be confused as to what I should be doing here on earth. 

When discouragement and hopelessness come calling, I must confidently kick them out. I have a task to do. I have a war to fight. I already know the outcome. Victory. My only job is to keep fighting, with confidence. Through praying the word, travailing prayer and fasting, I am driving out my enemies, little by little.

"Dear God, You have already promised victory. I feel tired sometimes. I feel apathetic sometimes. Please forgive me. I must pray more, fast more and grab ahold of God-confidence in the war against evil. I must not give in, even an inch. The victory is already won, as long as I fight to my death. Literally. Thank You Jesus, for fighting to Your death for me. You are truly the Way Maker! You are my God. I am helpless and hopeless without You. How I love You. In Jesus precious name I pray, AMEN."

My plan of action: