KNOW GOD, BE STRONG & DO EXPLOITS!

“The people who do know their God shall be strong and do exploits.” Daniel 11:32

This oft repeated scripture delivers hope to us in these times. In the prophetic context, the messengers of God speaks to Daniel about a time of great spiritual conflict. The people of God have been captured. Ungodly leaders have stolen the sacred and polluted the sanctuary. Pagan worship and pagan agendas rule the day. The covenant of God is being perverted. Seduction is common. Flatteries and hypocrisies are the climate of political conquest...BUT…
In the midst of all this chaos, the messenger assures Daniel of this promise:
“They that know God shall be strong and do exploits.” In other words, regardless of the circumstances, those who really know God, spend time with Him in worship, thanksgiving, praise...those who meditate in His Word and listen to His voice...these kind of people, like Daniel, shall be strong and shall do exploits!
In our day of economic and political flatteries and seductive rhetoric, the Body of Christ should not only be strong enough to stand but should also do exploits. The Kingdom of God should advance. Those who stay strong through their relationship with God should go forward. The promises of deliverance, provision, peace and joy are still true for the righteous. Truth is truth, regardless of the upheaval in our world. Cheer up.
Jesus said it emphatically in John 16:33— “In this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer (courage), I have overcome the world”. He did it for us.

In Christ we are as strong as we want to be!

In hard times, Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “Be strong in the Lord and the Power of His Might!” Being strong is not an option.
God doesn’t need us to echo the nightly news, Sunday TV or even talk-radio!
God expects those who know the Lord to wisely be His voice of courage and strength in the midst of tribulation. God expects us to give voice to His Word. He expects us to have the audacity in this hour to do exploits...not to merely “hang in there”, but to go forward, to advance, to believe, to declare, to receive marching orders and yes to do exploits.

It’s set up time for the greatest awakening our world has ever known.

Let’s act like it. Darkness can’t put out light. David admonished the righteous to remember that “even in darkness, light dawns”! (Psalm 112) Our charge in this hour is not to give in to echoing the rant of panic but to give voice to the truth of God’s Word. Our charge is to know Him, be strong, and to do His exploits.
Let’s purpose to challenge ourselves daily to be God’s voice, rather than to be another distraught echo. Let’s be courageous. Light dawns for the upright even in darkness. Let’s be among those who know God, are strong and who do exploits.

Let’s go for it!

For Jesus the first temptation in the wilderness was turning stones into bread. Satan was playing on Jesus' desperation for provision after fasting for 40 days. Going without food for 40 minutes puts me at risk. I need my chocolate! Satan still loves desperate times, not that Jesus was desperate. The devil manufactures fear, extraggerates needs and blows day to day situations into monumental delimas. Take the current U. S. economy, for instance.

Here's the point. If Jesus had succombed to turning stones into bread, he would have compromised a basic truth. "Other" bread may have satisfied the immediate hunger for food, but "other" bread would not have brought eternal satisfaction. Jesus lived by every word that proceeded from His Father. That was his bread. Father's words nourished Jesus and provided for Him in ways that stones could not. In these economical times it may be tempting to turn something into provision out of desperation. Satan knows that.

Picture with me a basket of loaves of bread. Some made from stones of our own making and one made by and according to the Word of God. Father's direction leads to Father's provision. Provision of our own making may satisfy for the moment but not for the momentum. Immediate gratification is enticing, especially when there's a crisis at hand.

The word preaches that desperate times call for desperate measures. Jesus wasn't desperate. He wasn't panicing. His words rebuked Satan and sent him on his way. There will always be another attack on our finances. It's not the government's bread or the fanagling bread of our own making that runs the devil out, it's the Bread of Life. Jesus is that Bread! He's the Word made flesh and dwelling among us. His Word is His Bond.

He is our provision. We don't need a mixed bag of truth and consequences. From the Bread of Life, God's Word, comes direction for our provision. Satan's manufactured fear has not power unless we give it power. Turning stones into bread is a temptation in this day, but the Word of God is still the provision for times like these.