Trust Not In Chariots!

Jesus is enough! Just more than enough!

Memorize: Psalm 20:7’Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.’

2 Samuel 8:4”And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots.”

I would say this was a glorious time in the life of David where he experienced the tangible presence of the Hands of God on his life! Chapter eight begins with a bang: David defeated the Philistines, Moab and Hadadezer and besides the thunderous victory there was huge treasure of gold, silver and chariots, out of the war. This is where I want you to pause and observe carefully! This portion is pure gold! Don’t you ever miss it! Instead of greedily grabbing all the spoil from the war, David did something amazingly unique that made him the heart-throb of God; there were about 1700 horesemen and 20,000 foot soldiers, and David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots. David did not trust in chariots and horses for his victory, he destroyed most of them because he trusted in his God for his victory. No wonder, twice we have mention of his success in this chapter:

• Verse 6…..the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.

• Verse 14….he LORD gave victory to David wherever he went.

We got to hear it carefully when the Lord speaks twice about the same thing in a single chapter. Are you listening? We have the mention of David’s successful and victorious life, at the same time, we have the reasons mentioned for it here as well! Observe!

Step one – One hundred percent surrender: David’s heart was so filled with God and His goodness that the vast number of horsemen and chariot horses did not mean a bit to him, he reserved just 100 and hamstrung the rest of the horses and made them useless for war, David did that, and voila, God was thrilled! Your actions are weighed says the Bible: 1 Samuel 2: 3”Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.” The above are the words of Hannah! How can I not think of Hannah as I write on this subject! She gave away Samuel when he was her precious and only kid! Your ‘giving’ becomes exceptional when you give away all you have to God trusting Him for the future! Your actions are weighed sang Hannah! Oh! Yeah! She is right! Every move and every thoughts of your heart are observed by God! Proverbs 21:2 “…..the LORD weighs the heart.”

Only when you empty yourself can you be filled by God! Do you hear me? When the Lord was pursuing me to resign from the multinational bank where I worked and join the mission field, I ran backwards – yes, I was terrified. What do I do for my medical bills? What about children education? God hushed my turbulent spirit by asking, ‘am I not enough?’ It took me several years to understand that FULLY, though. I pocketed some money after my resignation from the bank and reserved it for my daughter’s future education. The Lord chased me; he said, ‘give away everything.’ Eventually, I did give away everything and kept none for myself; from there started the ‘faith school’ in my life! Never, ever think that it was cozy and cool – though excruciating, the ‘hands-on training’ taught me lovely lessons that I have been sharing with you all these past years. After the funds were washed and wiped, my daughter’s fees had to be paid and we needed Rs.6000/- Both my husband and I waited on our knees for the funds; I remember the knock of the post man on the door and we received just enough for my daughter’s fees that day. Glory to Jesus! Jesus is enough! ( Click MY TESTIMONY to read my complete testimony)

Step two: Passionate offering! Here in this chapter we see another aspect of David and that is his lavish giving to God. Read 2 King 8:11,12 “….King David dedicated to the LORD, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued,12 from Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, Amalek, and from the spoil of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, king of Zobah.” All the silver, gold and bronze that he got from the war were dedicated to God! Let me tell you something now, giving offering and tithes to God is the most important key to financial success. Poverty, debts and financial crisis are mostly due to our lackadaisical attitude towards dealing of money and our barrenness in the area of giving to God. Most of the Christians either do not know about tithing, or they pretend not to know of the subject; nevertheless, the end result is unhappiness and failures. (Click TITHES to read the full article) Determine your heart to pay your offerings to God and support the ministries to build the Kingdom of God and then watch God bless you immeasurably.