gracetidings:with dr doug mamvura
“Rise take your journey and cross over the River Arnon. Look I have given into your hand Sihon the Armorite, king of Heshbon and his land. Begin to possess it, and engage him in battle” (Deuteronomy 2:24).
The Lord had given Sihon into their hand before the actual battle took place and it was already a done deal. However, they still had to contend with him “ in battle”.
I believe this scripture is speaking to many of us who are just stuck in the same place failing to realise that we are victors, not victims.
Likewise, we already have the victory in Christ because the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 2:14, thanks be to “God who always gives us victory”. We have to fight the battle, but the victory is assured. One key to victorious living is knowing what we have already been given. Second Peter 1: 2-3 states that “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue”.
Jesus has already given us everything we could ever need when we became born again. We don’t need to get something new. We just need a revelation of what we already have in Christ.
Prosperity is already given; we just need to learn what the laws that govern God’s prosperity are and cooperate with them. Healing has already been deposited on the inside of us (1 Peter 2:24).
As we move back to Deuteronomy 2:24, we find that although the victory was assured, Moses and his people had to play their part which included to “Rise…up”. If we are lazy, we will never possess the things God has for us. We have to stir ourselves up, or we will sink to the bottom.
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It’s a whole other level of faith when you stop asking God to heal you or prosper you and begin to thank Him because He has already done so (1 Peter 2:25; 2 Corinthians 8:9).
Notice that God said, “Arise and contend with him.” In other words, with God it was a done deal, but that doesn’t mean it was automatic or that you can just do your own thing and not seek the Lord. You have to contend to possess what God has already given.
You need to have the mindset that it’s already done. “I can’t fail because God has already done it, and I refuse not to get what I’ve already got!” That doesn’t mean you don’t do anything. You get up and contend. Most of these people were born in the wilderness and had never had to do anything. They had manna to eat and their clothes didn’t even wear out! It was totally supernatural how God had provided for them. When you have abundance like that, you get complacent. They had never known war or oppression.
This is why at times those who are used to have things done for them find it very difficult to cope with challenging situations the moment they are no longer in a privileged position.
God was saying the first thing you have to do is “rise up” or stir yourself up. Some people are like water, they take the path of least resistance. Life is not like that. As we face this current pandemic, there is no need for one to sit back and watch helplessly for the situation to change. We will never go back to the original situation. You have to rise up and do something. For how long are you going to keep mourning and groaning about this pandemic without taking action? You have to rise up and face your fears. You have to deal with the situation that is currently obtaining. This is the new normal. No amount of depression and anxiety will change this situation.
This takes us to Deuteronomy 2: 3: “You have skirted this mountain long enough, turn northward.” The Israelites had basically been going in circles, because of their rebellion at God’s command to take the land.
Likewise, many of us believers today are just in a holding pattern. We spend our time going in circles, but never entering into the promised land the Lord has given us. We’ve done that long enough. You have to tell yourself that you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. It’s time to rise up and seize our inheritance that God has promised you. You are a partaker of His divine nature. There are people who are starting up businesses in this kind of environment and it is only a matter of time before we have a new breed of entrepreneurs who were born out of the ashes of Covid-19.
It’s like the lepers in 2 Kings 7, who rather than just sitting there until they died of starvation went out to the enemy, found out the enemy had fled, and took advantage of all of their possessions and food that they left. Matthew 11:12 says, “the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” You can interpret that a number of ways, but one way is you’ve got to stir yourself up. You have to get aggressive or violent with the devil. The Bible says resist the devil and he will flee. Sickness, disease or poverty is not your portion as a child of God. “He (Abraham) did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He promised, He was also able to perform” (Romans 4:20-21).
When you focus on God’s promises as a done deal, not problems, it will boost your faith. Abraham didn’t consider the deadness of Sarah’s womb. Faith doesn’t glorify limitations or look for excuses. If God said it, that settles it. This is the victory that overcame the world, even our faith.
People who are begging God to heal them “if it be Your will” are never going to get healed. You have to know what God has done, and then get aggressive, saying, “Look, this is the children’s bread,” like the woman with the infirmity. This is your right; Jesus purchased it, and you’ve got to stir yourself up! The second thing is to take your journey. You can’t take someone else’s journey. Each one of us has a path, and you need to find out what God has called you to do. If you don’t have a destination in mind, any road will take you there. Know your purpose and you’ve got to know and take the path that will get you there.
l Dr Doug Mamvura is a graduate of Charis Bible School. Feedback: [email protected] or Twitter @dougmamvura
