God Conquers

The LORD will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!

Deuteronomy 28:7

BETTY AND TOM didn’t like it when drugs and crime moved into their neighborhood. So they talked to God and felt called to do something about it. First of all, they began to work with their church, which was dying because long-term members were fleeing the area. Betty and Tom helped the church leadership adapt to the new circumstances to show the evolving neighborhood how Christ and the church could help them. Next, Betty joined the city council and helped plan ways to improve the neighborhood, such as planting flowers, cleaning up yards, and using her public relations skills to help the area get some positive press coverage.

Surprisingly, not everyone was happy about the changes. Before long some of the people at the church and a few on the city council began to attack Betty and Tom personally through hateful words and actions.

Though the word enemy seems a little extreme for individuals in our society, at times—especially when we’re trying to serve the Lord—we’ll encounter people who are intent on throwing roadblocks in our paths.

Just as the Israelites could count upon God to deal with their enemies, when we’re following God’s directions, we can count on God to take care of those who would keep us from answering his call in our lives. Just as God could take care of enemies then, he can send our enemies scooting today!