1 Samuel 30 tells the story of when the Amalekites attacked Ziklag, while David and his men were in battle elsewhere. David and his mighty men’s wives and children were in Ziklag when the Amalekites raided the city, burned it, and took captive the young and the old. They did not kill any of them but rather took them captive and went on their way. When David and his men arrived back in Ziklag to find the city burned and their families were taken captive. They wept until they had no strength to weep left in them. David then strengthens himself in the Lord and seeks the Lord regarding whether to pursue the Amalekites– and if they will be successful. The Lord’s answer was,
“Pursue them. You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue and recovery of all.”
David asked his six hundred men to pursue the Amalekites with him but two hundred of them remained behind because they were too exhausted. So, David and four hundred of his men went out, and just as the Lord said, they rescued their wives, children, and all of the plunder that was taken. They pursued their enemy and RECOVERED ALL! David insisted that all six hundred of his men received ALL that they lost— not only the four hundred that went into battle to overtake and recover.
I sensed that this is a message for many now. In His mercy and compassion, both those who engaged in battle and those who were too exhausted to go into battle will recover all. There are some of you who wonder if you will remain in a state of grief, weeping and loss because you haven’t had the heart to battle or overtake the enemy that robbed you. But the Lord had strengthened others to go, pursue, overtake and recover what belongs to you. What a loving God!
This is a story that has become a promise for you, your family, and your nation. As the enemy has attacked places of established covenants, relationships, our sons and daughters, and our families– and much weeping has taken place– the Lord is saying, “You will recover all.”
God gives us a door of hope within the wilderness of loss and darkness. Hosea 2 is a promise for you—
Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. “In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’ I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. In that day I will make a covenant for them, with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord. Hosea 2:14-20
He comes to give us a door of hope in the Valley of Trouble. He restores us, releases us from the captivity of “other masters” gives us back what is ours (even our land), and causes us to live in safety. He comes in righteousness, justice, love, compassion, and His faithfulness. We will acknowledge Him and praise Him for each one of these amazing attributes.
Take heart! You will recover all! Enter into the truth of this promise— even if you are weary— for He is not a man that He should lie. His faithfulness endures from age to age, generation to generation!
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Inscribe Ministries
Featured Image by Peter H from Pixabay
