Have you ever experienced a “Ziklag” moment?
Ziklag was where David, his men and their families had set up camp. But as David and his men went to fight one battle, the Amelekites came and stole everything they owned—including their wives and children. When David and his men returned, everything was gone.
The name Amelekite means “those who exhaust.” That’s exactly what Satan tries to do. As we are out fighting spiritual battles for the Lord, it is not uncommon to experience an attack against our homes, our finances or our family. The intent is to exhaust us, intimidate us and force us to take our hands off the wheel of His work to deal with the attack.
Has that happened to you? Has Satan attacked your home, finances and/or family? Does it feel that you have lost everything; where everything you hold dear is gone and everywhere you turn your life seems to be going up in flames? This is a word for you in this wilderness:
You can recover all.
We see an example of this in biblical times when David lost all—and then recovered all. In fact, he recovered more than what was taken.
First Samuel 30:1-6 (NKJV) recounts that tumultuous time in David’s life. “Now it happened, when David and his men came to Ziklag. On the third day, the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire.
“They had taken captive the women and those who were there, from small to great. They did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way.
“So, David and his men came to the city, and there it was, burned with fire. Their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
“And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters.”
David and his men returned from war only to find their homes ransacked, their goods stolen and their wives and children missing. All they valued was gone.
But if that wasn’t devastating enough, in the midst of this deep distress, David’s men blamed him for what happened and spoke of killing him. You’ve been there. When all of a sudden, close friends and even family seem to turn against you in the time of greatest need. Why? Because that is one of Satan’s greatest tools—isolation.
David not only had to bear the grief alone, but he also feared for his own life in the midst of such great loss. It had to have been devastating. But you’ve had a devastating moment as well.
There is a saying that you are either in the wilderness, have just come out of the wilderness or are about to go into the wilderness…It is true as we all experience wilderness seasons and yet, they can also be seasons of tremendous growth. More importantly, as we trust God, they can also be times of great insight and ultimately refreshing.
Maybe you are in a day in which you feel all has been stolen from you and even those who you have turned to for comfort have turned their backs. And so you have wept alone, but God has seen your tears. If you find yourself in a Ziglag moment, be encouraged for just as David’s story didn’t end there, neither does yours.
The first thing to remember is to inquire of the Lord. This is not a time to lament your situation but to seek Him for answers. As David chose to keep his eyes on the Lord and not the circumstances, his turnaround was in progress.
First Samuel 30:8: “So David inquired of the Lord, saying, ‘Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?’
“And He answered him, ‘Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.'”
Did you get that? Recover all!
David heeded this word and chose to set out. He had no idea where he was going or how he would recover all. And that wasn’t the point. The point was he chose to trust God to deliver.
That is important in your recovery. You have to heed the word of the Lord when He says, “You will recover all!” We can either let go of hope or move forward in recovery. We have to choose.
As you read the story, David not only recovered all but what had been a devastating loss of everything was now turned into a recovery of all that was lost—plus more.
“So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives. And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them;
“David recovered all” (1 Sam. 30:18-19).
Not only did David recover all that had been stolen, but he took the spoil of the Amalekites. There was such abundance that he sent gifts to the elders of the land to give testimony of all God had done to restore and recover.
There is a power in Ziklag moments. When we take hold of God and allow Him to guide us out of them, we then choose to begin to once again follow Him through the wilderness.
Are you in a Ziglag moment? Do you feel abandoned and hopeless in the circumstances you now find yourself? Don’t despair. Continue to inquire of the Lord and follow His leading, for God will restore as you follow Him to the place that He leads. You will not only recover all that was lost, but will see an abundance so that you can bless others.
His Word promises that you will recover all. {eoa}
Karen Hardin is a literary agent and writer. She is the author of “Infected: How to Stop the Global Spread of Rage, Deception and Insanity” and “God’s Justice after Injustice.” Her work has been published in USA Today, Western Journal, World Net Daily, Intercessors for America, Charisma, CBN.com and more. She is also the co-founder of the city-by-city.org prayer movement to take back our cities and nation.
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