THE TRIUMPHS OF THE LORD!

SCRIPTURE

Judges 5:1-11 (NRSV)

Deborah the judge sings God's praise

Then Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying:
"When locks are long in Israel,
when the people offer themselves willingly --
bless the Lord!

"Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;
to the Lord I will sing,
I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel.

"Lord, when you went out from Seir,
when you marched from the region of Edom,
the earth trembled,
and the heavens poured,
the clouds indeed poured water.
The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai,
before the Lord, the God of Israel.

"In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, caravans ceased
and travelers kept to the byways.
The peasantry prospered in Israel,
they grew fat on plunder,
because you arose, Deborah,
arose as a mother in Israel.
When new gods were chosen,
then war was in the gates.
Was shield or spear to be seen
among forty thousand in Israel?
My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel
who offered themselves willingly among the people.
Bless the Lord.

"Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys,
you who sit on rich carpets
and you who walk by the way.
To the sound of musicians at the watering places,
there they repeat the triumphs of the Lord,
the triumphs of his peasantry in Israel.

"Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord.

DEVOTION

I love today’s scripture reading because it is a vivid reminder that even if you are the underdog, when you put all of your hope in God, God is able to do amazing things!

Judges 5 says, “When the people offer themselves willingly…to the Lord I will sing…Bless the Lord…there they repeat the triumphs of the Lord, the triumphs of his peasantry in Israel.”

Wow!

There seems to be some connection between submitting to the will of God, praising and worshipping God, and then enjoying the triumph of God in your life!

I will admit that there have been many times in my life when I have been down and out, or that other people wrote me off, or when I attempted an impossible task. At each juncture people expected my failure, said I couldn’t do it, or rooted for the opposing team.

But, the Bible says that when we are weak, God is strong!

It is when we know we can’t do something that we lean wholeheartedly on God and it is when we know that we don’t have the strength to lift our burdens that we remember to ask God for help!

God loves to aid the underdog, for when the underdog wins, only God can get the glory! The win is not because I was so strong, so smart, so talented, or so rich. No, the win is only because God stepped in right on time!

God always steps in right on time and the cross is a wonderful example of this spiritual truth.

My friends, God gave Jesus to die on an old rugged cross. It was a terrible, heinous, and painful death. The forces of darkness rejoiced when Jesus took his last breathe for they knew that they had won and it looked like all hope was lost…

But, early Sunday morning, before the break of day—GOD TURNED IT AROUND!

Jesus got up with all power in his hands. He was triumphant over sin, death, and the grave. All of the naysayers and doubters were proven wrong. God proved that God is always ultimately victorious in all things!

To this I say, “HALLELUJAH!”

So let me ask you, what kind of impossible task are you facing today? Give it to God!

Submit your life and your circumstance to God. Begin to praise and worship God in advance for the victory. And then wait on God to move! God is going to do above and beyond what you would think, ask, or imagine—in Jesus Name!

Please pray with me:

Great and Gracious God, how I love your name! Thank you that in Christ, I am always more than a conqueror. Thank you for loving me and making me victorious in all things! I trust your will and your plan for my life. Please help me to submit to your will wholeheartedly as I praise and worship you in advance for my victory. I love you and I promise to share our love with others. Thank you for giving Jesus to die on the cross, and to rise again on the third day, to forgive me of my sin and gift me with eternal life. Now, that’s real VICTORY and I praise you! Hallelujah and Amen!

SPECIAL NOTE

If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! Let me encourage you to tell a Christian friend that you just put all of your hope in Jesus. Ask him or her to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand and to find a good Bible believing church where you can be baptized and make new friends who will walk with you on your Christian journey!

I would be honored if you would let me know about your decision today by clicking "YES" in the poll located in the upper-right hand corner of the good news blog in answer to the question, "Did God save you today?"

Congratulations and Happy Re-birthday! Your salvation is our GOOD NEWS, please go and share the GOOD NEWS with others!