Focus on the Lord and His Mighty Power

"The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy" (Zephaniah 3:17).

Dear intercessors,

Right now look at your life. Where is your focus? Is it on your finite self and your inabilities, or is it on a limitless and mighty God who can do anything and who is your victorious warrior?

Let’s look at the example of Joshua and Caleb and the ten spies in Numbers 13 and 14. You remember when Moses sent out 12 spies to survey the promised land. Ten of the spies came back with a bad report about the land God had called them to conquer. They were looking at the situation through human eyes and said: 

“But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large… We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are… We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:28, 31, 33).

These spies were focusing on their own inability rather than the ability and power of God. They did not see God as a victorious warrior in their midst. But Joshua and Caleb had a different report. Their focus was on God and His power. In Numbers 14:7-9, they said to the people of Israel:

“The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them."

Our responsibility is to trust, know, and carefully obey God’s Word. If we do everything written in it and do not turn from it to the right or the left, then we will be prosperous and successful (Joshua 1:7-8). From this passage, if we’ve been trusting and obeying in the face of an impossible situation, we can learn 3 things that we can boldly declare in prayer:

• If the Lord is pleased with me, He will give me the land - Bring before the Lord any impossibility you may be facing. If He has led you this far, then He will carry you through. He will give you your inheritance (your promise and what He has put in your heart) in His timing.
  
  “I will give you every place where you set your foot” (Joshua 1:3).
   
• I will not fear - Faith is the opposite of fear. Declare your faith in the ability of God to fulfill His promise. Proclaim His attributes. Realize that He will fight for you. Joshua says:
  
  “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).    
   
• The Lord is with me - It may seem dark and overwhelming but if the Lord is with you, you have all you need. He will be the one who makes you successful. Acknowledge His presence with you to conquer the enemy whatever that may be.   
  
  “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5).   

Think about the life of Moses. What if he tried to figure out what was needed to accomplish what God had commanded? He led the people of Israel into the desert. How would he take care of them? He had to feed 3 ½ million people!

According to the U.S. Army’s Quartermaster General, he would need 1500 tons of food a day. Just to imagine the size of the need, it would take two freight trains, each a mile long. For cooking the food, they would need 4000 tons of firewood and a few more freight trains, each a mile long. This is what they needed for just one day. And what about keeping warm for forty years in the desert? It does get cold there. Just for washing dishes and drinking it took 11,000,000 gallons of water each day, enough to fill a train of tanker cars 1800 miles long.

In addition to all this, they had to cross the Red Sea in just one night! If the path was narrow and they walked two-by-two, the line would be 800 miles long and require 35 days and nights to get across. To make it in one night, the space in the Red Sea would have to be 3 miles wide so that they could walk 5000 abreast. And just to camp at the end of the day, they needed a campground the size of the state of Rhode Island or 750 miles wide. 

Now do you think Moses tried to figure this out before he left Egypt? No! He had to walk by radical faith. He had faith that God would take care of everything.

In the same way, we can trust God for the impossibilities in our own life circumstances. Just like Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, we can trust that God is in our midst as a victorious warrior who can break through any impossible situations like crossing the Red Sea and conquering the promised land. He rejoices over us with shouts of joy. Our responsibility is to trust in Him and focus on Him and His mighty power right in the midst of our impossibilities.

“Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal" (Isaiah 26:4).

I invite you to get my new prayer course called: How to Grow Deeper in Intimacy with God. It's a biblical, motivational, and transformational course to empower you towards a deeper relationship with God​. This can completely change your life. Enroll Here for a $100 discount!

Together in the Harvest,
 
Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC)
deb@intercessorsarise.org
www.intercessorsarise.org