Scripture
Jeremiah 32:2
“The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.”
Observation
Zedekiah, King of Judah had a real problem. The city was under siege, his kingdom was under attack, and the enemy was at the gates. It was time to take action! Something had to be done!
The king took swift and decisive action…and locked up the prophet of God in the courtyard. Unfortunately for the king, Jeremiah was not the enemy. In truth, neither were the armies of the Babylonians. The prophet and the invading armies were simply messengers sent by God to turn the hearts of the people back to him.
The king could not be victorious in battle, because he didn’t know who his enemy was.
Application
There are days that I feel under attack.
The enemy is coming against me, and I need to take decisive action. Unfortunately, like the king of Judah, I don’t always see clearly who the enemy is! I end up fighting my wife, or my neighbor, or a random stranger that I don’t know on Facebook…
Nearly always though, I eventually come to realize that the true enemy was me. The enemy is the condition of my heart, and my distance from the Father. The enemy is the pride within me. The enemy is my own lack of self-control.
I cannot live a victorious life, while fighting the wrong enemy! I have to start by getting my own heart right with God, and let Him reveal the things in my heart, which are holding me back from full surrender to him.
This week, I need to be intentional to know my enemy before I go to battle.
Prayer
God, thank you for drawing me back to you over and over again. Thank you for revealing the things in my own heart which are holding me back from you. Help me this week, to not waste time fighting the wrong enemy! Help me to instead fully surrender to you, and let you fight my battles.
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