the battle is the Lord's

As I was praying last night, I felt really convicted of two sets of Bible books&numbers, Exodus 24:7, 17 and Genesis 24:7, 17.

Exodus 24:7 reads: "Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, 'We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey.'"

Exodus 17 is two-parted: the first is about Moses getting water from the rock because "the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, 'Is the LORD among us or not?'" and the second is about Joshua defeating the Amalekites only because Moses held up the staff of God.

Genesis 24:7 is about Isaac's wife, Rebekah, and how she was set apart for him by the LORD. Abraham says, "The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there."

Genesis 17 is about God's covenant of circumcision with Abram, in which He gives Abram&Sarai name changes and promises the "impossible" birth of Isaac that will help fulfill the promise that Abraham and Sarah's names will be made great.

As I read those verses in that order, I came to 5 very important conclusions/plans of actions for myself:

1) I must (promise to) obey and follow His Word.

2) Why question God's presence? The Lord is with me as well. He does the impossible to prove Himself to my faithless self, but why test my God? Why ask for circumstantial evidence?

3) The battle is the Lord's; persistence and perseverance — not skill or strategy — is required of me.

4) God is sovereign and has set apart every good and perfect thing that I will ever want and need.

5) God has promised me great things and He will be faithful — all it takes on my part is FAITH.

Not only is it amazing how reassuring God's Word is, but also how true it is that if you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you. PTL