READING: Leviticus 26-27
It’s easy to fear the enemy. If you read enough books about spiritual warfare, you’ll find demons behind every rock. Read the Bible only partially, and you can give the enemy far too much authority. Talking to some believers can lead you to believe that the enemy is almost more powerful than God.
What we must remember is that our God is always bigger than any enemy we face. Leviticus 26 speaks of God’s power over different enemies, but the Word is nevertheless clear: when God is on your side, He will give victory: "I will give peace to the land, and you will lie down with nothing to frighten you. I will remove dangerous animals from the land, and no sword will pass through your land. You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword. Five of you will pursue 100, and 100 of you will pursue 10,000; your enemies will fall before you by the sword” (Lev. 26:6-8). With God, the few defeat the many, and His people live in victory.
On the other hand, we are reminded again in this chapter that the same God brings judgment on His people when they do not follow Him: “But if you do not obey Me and observe all these commands— if you reject My statutes and despise My ordinances, and do not observe all My commands—and break My covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring terror on you—wasting disease and fever that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. You will sow your seed in vain because your enemies will eat it. I will turn against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even though no one is pursuing you” (Lev. 26:14-17). In this case, God even uses the enemies of His people to bring judgment on them.
Thus, I will repeat again today what we’ve learned previously in other texts: the one we are to fear is not the enemy; it is God. Sometimes we far too readily follow the ways of the devil because we’ve lost our reverence for the God who will hold us accountable.
ACTION STEPS: Consider these steps today:
- Ask this question: “If I truly revered God with a healthy sense of fear, how would my life change today?”
- Make those changes. Trust that accountability will come if you don't.
PRAYER: “God, You alone grant victory. You also hold me accountable when I reject Your commands. Grant me grace to make the right choices today.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Numbers 1-2