Mensa Otabil - The Spirit of God Stops the Floods (09/28/2025)
We’ve been looking at the Spirit of God and what He does in our lives, and today we’re going to look at the fact that the Spirit of God stops floods from overwhelming us. Our text is from Isaiah chapter 59, verse 19: «So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.»
This passage tells us how the enemy comes against us, and it says that the enemy comes against us like a flood. A flood is a very strong current of water that moves everything in its way and destroys. If you live in a city with floods or any other city that experiences them, you can testify to the damage a flood can cause. Floods can be very disastrous; they destroy and kill, and they overwhelm us. When a flood is in operation, it’s almost as if nothing can stop it. It seems that the flood has its own way, and whatever it wants to do, it does. Sometimes you see the enemy, Satan, coming against our lives, and it looks like a flood.
It almost seems as if whatever he wants to do against you, he gets his way. But listen to what God says in this passage: when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God will lift up a standard against him. So anytime Satan comes against your life like a flood, the Spirit of God who lives inside of you will lift up a standard against him. What does the word «standard» mean? The word «standard» is an interesting term; in the original language, it means «that which causes to flee» or «that which causes an escape.» This means that when the enemy brings a flood against you, the Spirit of God will create a way of escape for you. He will lift up a standard; He will give you a way of deliverance.
That’s the first meaning. The second meaning is that when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God will cause him to flee. In other words, the flood is coming against you, but God rises up on your behalf, and the enemy flees from you. In both cases, whether God gives you a way of escape or causes the flood to flee, the net effect is that God will deliver you from the flood. I don’t know what kind of flood is coming your way. Maybe bad news is coming one after another. It’s time for the Spirit of God to lift up a standard against that flood in your life. You are about to find a way of escape; God will deliver you, and if He doesn’t deliver you, then He will cause the flood to flee away from you.
«He shall come against you one way and flee before you seven ways.» When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. May the Lord lift up a standard against the enemy. May the Spirit of God rise up inside of you and cause every flood that has come against you to run away from you. You have been called to victory—enjoy the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.