“And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. So the Israelites fled from the Philistines. But Shammah stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So the LORD brought about a great victory.”
II Samuel 23:11-12 NKJV
Shammah was one of David’s mighty men. When all of God’s people ran in the face of danger, Shammah ran against the crowd and took on the Philistines in the middle of a lentil field. Go there with me for a moment. His friends, family and people he’s known his whole life were all running for their lives. He was in that crowd. He heard the report. He heard the fear. He saw the panic. He was tempted to react the same that day as the pressure was mounting. However, his story ended differently. He wasn’t going to run away from the enemy any longer, even if it meant losing his life. He had reached his tipping point. He was going to defend the land even if his own blood was spilled. That day, Shammah occupied the land and the Lord brought a great victory!
Many times in crisis, we can quickly find ourselves running in fear. Panic knocks on the door of our emotions and we allow its company to settle comfortably in our lives and homes. All reason and logic then is seeded from fear and panic rather than faith.
I want to bring your attention back to Shammah for a moment. Notice it was in the midst of great fear that he was able to see with a different perspective or lens. Many times before the greatest of victories are mentioned, we will see in our own life’s or in the life of a nation the greatest of battles. Shammah saw an invitation to occupy when everyone else saw themselves losing ground. I would like to propose that you and I as the church are in fact not losing ground. We are in fact being divinely set up to OCCUPY!
This reminds me of when the Lord told the Israelites to go and occupy the promise land. They would face giants that they would have to defeat, but the Lord gave them clear instructions not to be afraid. Today, as we all know, a crisis has presented itself in a way that I know even my parents and grandparents have not seen before. I’m also confident in the day we are living. We stand together in a new era as a church that most of us haven’t fully grasped yet. It’s possible a divine reset and/or setup was in order to propel us forward into God’s timeline. It’s also highly possible that as we position ourselves accordingly as the church the Lord will being about a GREAT VICTORY!
QUESTIONS/PRAYER:
- How must we position ourselves today in the midst of this crisis? TEST YOURSELF: Faith brings wisdom and peace. Fear brings irrationality and panic. Also, pastor offered great practical advice on Sunday. Discuss if anyone is applying those practical steps yet. (You can listen again or encourage everyone to listen once again as a refresher.)
- A Divine setup for a resetting of priorities is in order. How is your relationship with God, family prayer and bible reading times, etc)
- How are you being intentional with genuine connection with the church even while being physically distant?
- SMALL GROUP LEADERS- take an assessment of your people. How are they with jobs and health, etc? Let’s keep an open communication with Pastor and John and Sissy as to the state of the people. ALSO, Pastor will be hosting Zoom a SG Leaders meeting tonight at 6:30. Please mark your calendars for tonight.
