Mensa Otabil - Make a Move
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Welcome to day number 18 in our 40 days of power. 2 Samuel chapter 5, verse 24: «And it shall be when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly, for then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.»
After David had won his battle against the Philistines, they regrouped for a second battle. Isn’t it amazing that sometimes you think you’ve won a victory, and then the enemy just comes back and fights you again? So that’s what happens. The enemies regrouped, and David had to inquire of the Lord again. The Lord gave him new directions, and there’s something very interesting and profitable for us to learn. In the first battle, God gave him instructions on how to fight it. In the second battle, God provided different instructions. In the first battle, David was in a defensive position. This time, he had to be in an advanced position.
What we learn is that yesterday’s permission is not today’s mandate. What God said to you yesterday should not be what you follow all the time for every battle because, for different situations, God has different strategies for us. Similar situations may require different approaches. When we rely on the Lord, we don’t just rely on Him once and for all; we rely on Him daily. That’s why we pray, «Give us this day our daily bread,» because God does new things every day with us.
In this second battle, if you look at the instructions here, there are important things to note. First, God says that you shall hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees. That means that, while they are there in the mulberry trees, they will hear a sound of marching. Definitely, marching doesn’t happen on top of the trees; this is a spiritual sound. In this battle, David has to be sensitive to hear the sound of heaven.
What is God saying? Where is God moving? What is God indicating? This is going to be a strategy to deploy total dependence on what God is doing and moving. David had to follow the Spirit’s leading. In the first battle, God was with David. In this second battle, God went ahead of him. Two different things are happening. Sometimes God is with us in a battle, and sometimes He goes ahead to give us a victory, and we have to move behind Him. So this is what is happening here.
The third thing we learn is that David had to do in the natural what he hears in the spiritual. When he hears that God is moving ahead of him, he moves. When he hears that God is giving him victory, he goes out for the victory. David had to enact what is happening in the spirit realm in the natural. This battle is being fought on two levels: spiritually and naturally. Whatever God does spiritually, you do in the natural realm. That’s what He’s telling David. It’s a little different from the first one, where you just go in and get a victory. This one requires a certain sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and His indications. What He does in the Spirit, you do in the natural.
He tells David, number four, that when he sees all these signs, he should advance quickly. Don’t wait; don’t wait for further instructions. Why? Because in the first battle, God was with him, but in the second battle, God goes ahead of him. When God makes a way, you don’t wait; you rush into it. And that’s what happened. God gave David two victories with two different strategies. For every battle, every situation you’re dealing with, remember, He is the Lord of the breakthrough. He doesn’t do the same thing all the time; He does different things at different times. That’s what we learn. The important thing is that when God makes a way for you, you advance into the thing He has prepared for you. Are you ready to make advancements?
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, you are the source of my progress. Help me to move forward in all areas of my life, in Jesus' name. Amen.»