March On, My Soul!

SCRIPTURE

Judges 5:12-21 (NRSV)
The song of Deborah

"Awake, awake, Deborah!
Awake, awake, utter a song!
Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,
O son of Abinoam.
Then down marched the remnant of the noble;
the people of the Lord marched down for him against the mighty.
From Ephraim they set out into the valley,
following you, Benjamin, with your kin;
from Machir marched down the commanders,
and from Zebulun those who bear the marshal's staff;
the chiefs of Issachar came with Deborah,
and Issachar faithful to Barak;
into the valley they rushed out at his heels.
Among the clans of Reuben
there were great searchings of heart.
Why did you tarry among the sheepfolds,
to hear the piping for the flocks?
Among the clans of Reuben
there were great searchings of heart.
Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;
and Dan, why did he abide with the ships?
Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,
settling down by his landings.
Zebulun is a people that scorned death;
Naphtali too, on the heights of the field.

"The kings came, they fought;
then fought the kings of Canaan,
at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo;
they got no spoils of silver.
The stars fought from heaven,
from their courses they fought against Sisera.
The torrent Kishon swept them away,
the onrushing torrent, the torrent Kishon.
March on, my soul, with might!


DEVOTION

Yesterday was a difficult day for me; it felt like everything and everyone was against me. But, then I read today's scripture passage and I was reminded that when God fights for me, I will always emerge victorious.

No matter what we are going through, when we put all of our hope and faith in God through Jesus Christ, we know that all things will work together for our good!

As Christians, we should never look at a situation and think that we are seeing all there is to see. When we look with our natural eyes, we are not even seeing 10% of the picture!

God is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. From God's perch upon eternity, God can see what was, is, and is to come. God is able to orchestrate our lives such that all of our stories conclude, "And s/he lived happily ever after..."

As humans, we have limited vision. When we experience hardship, calamity, trial, and tribulation, we tend to panic.

But, if we will but get still and listen for the voice of God and then heed God's commands with radical obedience, we will emerge victorious!

I love today's scripture because it says that even the stars of heaven fought on the side of Deborah and Barak.

This ought to be a word of encouragement for anyone going through anything. It is a reminder that God loves us so much that God is literally willing to move heaven and earth to come to our aid when we are in trouble!

My friends, we know that this is undoubtedly true, because God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life! When we were sinking deep in sin, God rescued us allowing Jesus to die in our place and to be resurrected from the dead in glory and in victory!

Today, lift up your heads! Raise your hands as you sing songs to your God! Declare, "March on, my soul, with might!"

God is at work! Whether or not you can see it; believe it! God is at work even now to redeem your situation.

HALLELUJAH!

Let us pray:

Holy One, I love you and I trust you. Since you did not withhold Jesus, but gave him up to die for me, I know that you will not withhold any other gift that I truly need. Today, I put all of my hope in you. I know that you are willing and able to rescue me. I am looking for a miracle and I can't wait to share my praise report with others! I pray this in Jesus Name, Amen.

THE INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html