Have you ever been left behind? Maybe a friend forgot to pick you up, or your family or friends left you at home. And you missed out. It’s not a good feeling at all. Many of us have probably heard of the movie Left Behind. This is an older end time movie about those who were left behind at the event of the Rapture. These individuals who missed Jesus’ re-appearing later came to faith had many tough challenges to face. It’s not a fate that one would wish on any one. This a picture of what the family of David and his men at Ziklag would have felt when they were left behind as the men went to a military campaign. In their absence raiders came and took all that were left behind, women, children and property and went off in the sunset rejoicing at their huge plunder. When David and his men came back, they discovered that their loved ones had been taken, and after much sorrow they pulled themselves together and decided to go after their loved ones and recover them. And that’s exactly what they did, 1 Samuel 30 tells us.
In recovering their lost treasures, we are shown a few things that we can do if we want to recover what the enemy of our Lord, Satan has stolen or prevented us from having.
Firstly, you must make a decision that you will not quit. That’s right, don’t quit. We are told David his men wept all day, then David encouraged himself in the Lord. (1 Sam 30:6). Can I tell you that you will be tempted to quit. Just tuck your tails in and run, the enemy wants you to know. After all, your health, your children, your ministry, or your relationship has been stolen from you. Simply just cry yourself to be comforted but don’t bother because God is not able to help you. This is the opposite of what we see David do here. Though he felt such angst that he wept so much, he was encouraged by the Lord, and decided to stick it out. The interesting thing is that this encouragement was initiated not by God but by David. This tells me that you are stronger than you know. Why don’t you today reach for joy instead of sorrow, hope instead of despair, faith instead of doubt. Reach up to God and watch him strengthen your resolve to continue to wait for what he has promised you.
Secondly David decided to fight. We need to recognize that much of life in the kingdom of God is a battle. That’s what Jesus said (Matt 11:12). Think about it from a natural standpoint, a baby struggles to walk, a child perseveres to learn to talk, a teenager pushes through emotions till maturity and adults face a plethora of challenges including pushy bosses, family drama, bad traffic, heavy handed politicians, to name a few. Let’s face it, life is a battle and so it is spiritually. We are called to engage in spiritual battle against the enemy of our soul. Satan wants to rob you of your joy, your peace and so much more. After you decide not to quit, you must stand up and fight. We fight him by obeying God in his plainly spelt our words of the Bible. We also fight him through prayer and worship. Take a stand and fight today, but it won’t happen till you realize you are immersed in a spiritual battle called life (John 10:10)
Finally, David left nothing behind. This third point is what inspired my devotion today. David left nothing or no one behind. Let’s read the scripture together;
1 Samuel 30
18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back. 20 He took all the flocks and herds, and his men drove them ahead of the other livestock, saying, “This is David’s plunder.”
I felt impressed to share this because many times we are satisfied with half miracles and incomplete blessings. God gave you a child after years of prayer, but don’t stop praying till that child comes to know Christ or you finally got married but your marriage is rough, well pray it through, just to name a few. Keep persevering and standing until all that God has promised comes to pass, this means salvation of your household, and his shalom (or peace) in your affairs, and that his kingdom will to be manifested in all that you do. Leave nothing behind this year, seek God, stand up to Satan, and nothing will be left behind
Pastor Olu Jegede