January 15th, 2007 - 1 Samuel 23:1-5

How many times has God told us to something that we hesitate and enquire to ensure that it was Him who has directed us, as we are harassed by a spirit of fear. David's men echoed such sentiments. How can we go and face the enemy when we fear them from afar off? In the New Testament, Jesus made us a mighty promise- I will never leave you nor forsake you. So when He directs us to do a particular activity, He will be with us but the enemy of our soul always seems to get us to doubt the promise and we fail to do what God has said to us.

We end up disobeying God and we do nothing. Does the New Year seem daunting to you? The past year was a struggle and you were relieved that it came to an end. Your hope is that the challenges of the past year will go away by the change of the calendar and everything will become new. But the same devil that intimidated you last year intends to keep you in the place of doubt and disobedience so that you will be very frustrated early in the New Year. The New Year which you thought held such promise will soon fade into total disappointment.

In this time, we need to believe that the God that we serve is faithful to keep His promises to us. We need to be faithful to Him as He is faithful to us. Our obedience to His command will be the testimony of our faith in Him. Like David and his men, we need to arise and move out of the place we are in and face the enemy. God will do for us exactly as He did for David. He will deliver the enemy into our hands and we will spoil them. We will not just rout them, we will also come away with much spoil. Let us begin to demonstrate our faith in our unchanging God and see what He will do for us in every challenge that confronts us in 2007.

• 1 Samuel 23:1-5 Then they told David, saying, Behold, the Philistines fight against Keilah, and they rob the threshingfloors. Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines? And the LORD said unto David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah. And David's men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines? Then David enquired of the LORD yet again. And the LORD answered him and said, Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand. So David and his men went to Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and brought away their cattle, and smote them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.