The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew~ Deuteronomy 33:27-28.
Introduction:
It’s true to life that the enemy occasionally comes to our life-spaces to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). But the good-news is that God has an alternative plan of greatness for His children. He called us out to be showpieces of His glory (1Peter 2.9).
God is the source of all true strength, and it is absolutely beautiful to note how our strength for overcoming afflictions and resisting temptations comes from Him. His grace is ever sufficient for all those who put their trust in Him.
Now, the power of God’s might is the power which His Arms supply. God outstretches His mighty Arm from above to draw His people out of the many waters of their fearful experiences, and to deliver them from their strong enemies (Psalm 18:16).
In the Bible, the human arm often emblematizes spiritual strength or power (Genesis 49:24). By the same token, the Arm of the Lord is a symbol of the divine military power (Psalm 89:13). We must always acknowledge this, and expect its wonderful manifestations in every affair of our lives.
When we truly believe God, recognizing and celebrating His outstretched Arm, Hisillimitable power is made available to us in Christ Jesus. The Bible says that the hand of the Lord is very glorious in power (Exodus15:6).
The more God’s wondrous works are known and experienced in our lives, the more they are admired and the much more they show up in the interplay of events inour generation. This is a great revelation that we must keep in our hearts, and forcefully engage in so as to enjoy supernatural exploits in our Christian enterprises.
All ancient heroes and heroines of faith understood this pretty well. They were quite familiar with the operations of God’s mighty Arm, and they never joked with it! For instance, the apostle Paul glowingly admonished the believers to be very strong in the power of God’s Might, which is made exceedingly great for the believer (Ephesians 1:19; 6:10).
Even the more ancient Prophet Isaiah enthused, “Who hath believed our report?and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1). Of course, we have exciting accounts of some of the things that the “finger” of the Lord did in times past, creating a path in the sea, wounding Egypt very badly, and so on, to deliver His covenant people. Thus, we can gleefully imagine what the entirety of His “Arm” can accomplish!
This is the Arm that didn’t allow Peter to go under when he walked upon the water. It was the same Arm that held his net after his great draught of fish so that the net was not broken (John 21:11). This same Everlasting Arm now teaches our arms to war and our fingers to do battles victoriously. Alleluia!
Amazingly, this divine Arm can be awoken if it ever becomes dormant in us, or asleep as it were, due to our inactivity, apathy or indolence. When the divine Arm awakes, “Rahab” is cut off and the “dragons” are wounded (Isaiah 51:9). Rahab here is a poetical name for Egypt (Psalm 89:10; Isaiah 30:7).
Excitingly, the same Almighty Power that smote Egypt in those days is the same power that scatters the enemies of the Church today, and causes all who trust in God’s mercy to rejoice in His name. Unarguably, the Lord’s counsels from eternity, and their consequences to eternity, are all justice and judgment!
When God Outstretches His Arm
The Arm of the Lord is His scepter of war (Isaiah 59:19)! Whenever it is outstretched, it comes with fury against the adversaries to crush them and rescue us from imminent dangers. No devil can ever contemn it.
The outstretched Arm of God takes over our battles and delivers us from the hands of our adversaries. Nevertheless, the Arm also blesses, lifting God’s people higher, giving them a new name and making their victories incontestable.
Generally, whenever the Lord outstretches His holy Arm, the earth rejoices in His salvation (Isaiah 52:10). The Arm is not only mighty to save, but also secure to hold (Isaiah 40:10-11). In the real sense, “the arm of the Lord” is Jesus Christ (Luke 1:51). And, it is His Arm that’s beneath us, securing, protecting and guiding us away from all evil stones.
Joseph had a very unusual destiny. Despite all the challenges and battles of his life, “his bows abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob” (Genesis 49:22-26). He was very fruitful, with overflowing blessings.
The Lord’s counsel established him and, at last, Joseph’s dream was fulfilled when the young Hebrew “ex-convict” was enthroned as the Prime Minister of Egypt. Thereafter, he became the Shepherd and the Stone of Israel.
Perhaps you are passing through some unpleasant circumstances presently, or your hands are even now weakened by the adversaries. Don’t despair because our God still maintains His upper hand in man’s affairs.
In particular, the people Christ has redeemed with his blood have obtained joyful deliverance! Thus, no matter the devices of the enemy, God’s counsel will always prevail. With His mighty Hand, God will always overrule the intentions of the wicked, and you will still shine!
Yielding To God’s Upper Arm Of Destiny
Nevertheless, in order to maximally benefit from God’s outstretched Arm, you need to fully yield to His guidance, not engaging in the crafty wiles of the heathen. As you fully rely on Him, He will show up for you at every point, and empower your dreams for great accomplishments!
We can demonstrate our yieldedness by praying to God for His Mighty Arm to awakeand be outstretched once again in our generation with signs and wonders (Acts 4:30). Whenever we pray for the display of God’s power; He answers with His exceeding grace.
Moreover, happy is the man who fears and serves God in total obedience to His Word. His hand shall be incredibly strengthenedfor exploits in every area of life, the plans ofthe wicked shall be truncated and he shall certainly testify to supernatural accomplishments, soonest (Deuteronomy 26:5-9). You won’t miss this, in Jesus name.Amen. Happy Sunday!
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Bishop Taiwo Akinola,
Rhema Christian Church,
Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.
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