In the text before us, Shammah is in the middle of a field filled with lentils. Lentils are peas, so he was in the midst of a pea patch.
The people of God had labored for many months to plant their ground with lentils. They sowed the seed, they cultivated the little shoots when they broke through the ground; they watered etc. It was months of backbreaking work. Now they were ready to gather the peas into the harvest.
They went out on this particular morning, but lo and behold, when they were about to gather the harvest, the Philistines suddenly appeared in the distance.
They were riding giant horses. They were clad in shining armor. The sun reflects off their swords. They scream their savage yells and it looked like sure victory.
Everybody ran except Shammah. They felt like they were no match for the Philistines. Shammah was all alone, so it appeared in the middle of this pea patch ready to defend it. He was in the middle of a mess. What a desperate situation he was in, trying to defend this field of peas all by himself.
How many times have you found yourself in the middle of something?
? The middle of a financial crisis
? The middle of a health crisis
? The middle of a job crisis
? The middle of a family crisis
? The middle of a church crisis
? The middle of a personal crisis
In other words, how many times have you found yourself in the middle of a mess with nowhere to go, feeling all abandoned?
Well I have good news for you tonight; I have always found that the Lord is always in the middle of whatever mess I may find myself in to help me defeat the enemy.
Just like with Shammah the Lord is in the middle of every battle we face. He is there to help bring about a “great victory” even for us.
You may be in the biggest storm of your life but I am here to tell you that the Lord is right there in the middle of it with you. Mark 6:47-48 – “(47) Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. (48) Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea …” {He came out to where they were in the middle of the storm}.
In Daniel chapter 3 we see that the Lord is in the midst of our fiery furnaces: “(23) And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst {In the middle} of the burning fiery furnace. (24) Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, ‘Did we not cast three men bound into the midst {the middle} of the fire?’ They answered and said to the king, ‘True, O king.’ (25) ‘Look!’ he answered, ‘I see four men loose, walking in the midst {the middle} of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God’” (Daniel 3:23-25).
No matter what you are going through when God is in the middle of it with you He will protect you. That which the devil meant to harm you will not have any power over you vs. 25 the king said they weren’t hurt, vs. 27 upon whose bodies the fire had no power, vs. 27 not a hair on their head was singed.
The enemy can’t touch you when God is in the middle with you. No matter what it is, finances, health, family, etc. when God is in the middle you don’t have to fear.
In Daniel 6 we see that God will be in the middle of your lions den. Daniel 6:16-17; 19-22 – “(16) So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. {Into the middle of the lions den.} But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, "Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you." (17) Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed…(19) Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. (20) And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?" (21) Then Daniel said to the king, "O king, live forever! (22) "My God sent His angel {in the middle of this lions den} and shut the lions' mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you."
When you are right smack dab in the middle of the biggest battle of your life, there is a God who can shut the mouth of the lions. See, the word says. “Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary, the devil is as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). I’ve got news for you tonight, my God showed up in the middle of the lion’s den and he shut the mouth of the lions. They were roaring. And when my God shuts them up he shuts them down. Come on somebody. You may be in the middle of a crisis, but Christ is bigger. You may be in the middle of the fiery furnace heated seven times hotter than ever before, but God is right there in the middle of it with you.
He is in the middle of your struggle; He is in the middle of your situation; He is in the middle of your storm.
When God is in the middle with you He will protect you from the power of the lions.
You might feel like you are bound in and in the middle of a prison but I am here to tell you that the Lord will show up even in the middle of your prison. Think about Paul & Silas: Acts 16:23-26 – “(23) And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. (24) Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. (25) But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. (26) Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.”
In the middle of that prison, in the middle of the night when all was dark and Paul and Silas were feeling all alone God showed up and loosed them from their bonds and from the prison.
No matter what you are going through or may go through in the future always remember that the Lord is there with you in the middle of whatever it is.
