Friday, October 31, 2014

“Look to God”

It seems the devil decided to have a garage sale because he wanted to clear out some of his old tools to make room for new ones.  A man dropped by to see what he had.  There on a long table were all the tricks of Satan’s trade and each tool had a price tag. On one corner of the table was a shiny implement labeled “Guilt—$250,” next to it a curved tool labeled “Anger—$380.”  In another place he found “Greed—$500” and “Jealousy—$630.”  Then out of the corner of his eye, the man spotted a badly worn, beaten-up tool that was priced at an amazing $12,000. Curious, the man asked the devil why he wanted so much money for a worn-out piece of junk.  Satan told him it was expensive because he used it so much.  “What is it?” the man asked.  The devil answered back, “It’s the tool of discouragement. It works when nothing else will.”  When Satan can’t defeat us with guilt, anger, greed or jealousy, he’ll use discouragement. Have you ever heard the word “Ziklag?”  Do you know what it is? It’s the name of a city in the Bible and according to my sources it doesn’t have a meaning.  However, it was at Ziklag that David faced one of his darkest episodes of discouragement. Truth be told, I’ve been to Ziklag.  Okay, not literally, but emotionally.  I’ll bet some of you have too.  Ziklag represents those places of discouragement we’ve all visited at one time or another in life.  Our Ziklag’s can be caused by a loss, sickness, a failed relationship, emotional trauma or a spiritual battle.  Regardless of the cause, Ziklag is a real place that real people visit from time to time. So what are we to do when we find ourselves in Ziklag? That’s the question I believe God wants to answer for us through His Word this coming Sunday.  Take the time to read 1 Samuel 30:1-25 to read the story of David and his Ziklag.  It was there, in a place of utter discouragement, God met David in a profound way! David’s encounter with God made stronger not weaker!  It made him better not bitter!  Maybe, just maybe, God will have something to say to us through this amazing story that teaches us the importance of looking to Him! See you Sunday, pastor jamie