Day 18 with Moses: We must learn to trust the Lord to bring us the victory.

“Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of o went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭13:17-18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The Battle of Milvian Bridge took place between Roman Co-Emperors Constantine and Maxentius (October 28, 312). Constantine’s victory in this battle ultimately led him to total victory over the other co-emperors of Rome, putting an end to the Tetrarchy (Rome with three emperors). The extremely interesting point about this victory is that it came after Constantine and his men saw the sign of the cross in the sky with a message to Constantine indicating that he should fight under this sign. He took this to heart and had the first two Greek letters of Christ’s name put on all the battle gear. This incident also marks the beginning of Constantine’s conversion to Christianity and his making Christianity the favored religion of Rome.

King David learned early in his life that odds don’t matter; preparation or even plans are not the ultimate determining factor of victory, but rather whether the Lord is with you or not.

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭20:7-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As we look through the Bible at examples of people who did great things in the name of the Lord, we find that they were able to do so because they learned to trust in the Lord.

The Apostle Paul said something very interesting in regards to the great persecution and resistance he had been facing in Asia:

“For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,”

‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭1:8-9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Indeed, Paul is saying that these things came to pass so that they could learn to fully trust in the Lord to bring them through whatever they faced.

Today we find Moses being instructed by the Lord to explain that the reason for taking the children of Israel out of Egypt the long way around was to keep them from facing a battle too soon in their journey. The Lord knew that the people had not yet learned to put their trust fully in Him. But as we will find out, some of them eventually did, making all the difference for them.

Just before Moses’ death he would reflect back on this period of time with these words:

“When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.””

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭20:1-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

For today let us discover what Moses discovered:

We must learn to trust the Lord to bring us the victory.

#40dayswithmoses