No Fainting Allowed!

KJV v. 13... I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. v.14…Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait I say on the Lord.

David, the son of Jesse and descendant of Ruth who became king of Israel after the death of the rebellious Saul, and thus began the golden age of Israel. This powerful king wisely governed the tribes of Israel, forging them into a united nation. God blessed this man to be a valiant soldier, a great military strategist, an able administrator, a diplomat, a composer, a musician and king. David, the shepherd boy who defeated a giant named Goliath with a sling shot and a smooth stone. The one that killed a bear and a lion with his bare hands. David, the mighty man who led successful battles against enemies and won many wars with no swords and shields. David, the man after God’s own heart! If David had such a powerful background and stated HE almost fainted, what about you and I?

Yes, even David had times that he almost fainted, almost lost consciousness and almost lost his balance. However, I don’t think he was referring to the physical fainting as much as he was the spiritual. David endured all that and then some but now he’s talking about fainting! This should sound very familiar to the Christians right about now. Those of us that love the Lord with all of our heart and have made a commitment to serve Him until we die are going through some of the greatest challenges that we have ever faced.

Have you ever experienced any kind of difficulty that made you feel like fainting? Has the enemy ever messed with you? Is he bothering you now? I mean trying any and everything he can to cause you to just fall out and die! You do know that the enemy's job is to steal, kill and destroy us and he does not stop at anything! Sometimes in this Christian walk even the Savior will put us to tests. Oh yes He will! Ask Abraham, Job, Hannah, David, The Three Hebrew Boys, Paul, Silas, Miriam, The Sinner Woman and the list goes on. They all experienced times that they too, could have fainted. 
In the 6th division of the Psalm David asked God not to rebuke him in His anger or discipline him in His wrath. He says to God, "Be merciful to me, Lord for I am faint!" He cried unto the Lord to answer him and when he calls, he begs God to grant him some real relief! He asked God to give ear to his words and listen to his cry for help. David was TIRED! Although he accepted his punishment, he still asked God how long? Anybody ever asked God, "How long will I have to be in this?" David wasn't crazy, he knew he really should have been wiped out! All that David went through was not all for a spiritual reason. Some of the hardships he endured were just plain carnal but God still intervened. Whether it's a tragedy from satan or a test from God, we must not lose hope! Let me encourage you today as this passage of scripture encouraged me:  

The same stuff that happens in the physical occurs in the spiritual when we experience fainting! We become WEAK IN our FAITH!  We become WEAK IN OUR WALK! We even become WEAK IN OUR WITNESS! We get those spots in our eyes which prohibit us from seeing clearly. We can't hear well to follow the directions of the Lord. We lose our balance and fall! Fall out of fellowship, forget our contract of followship; we even forfeit precious friendships! Fainting is REAL! What is it that is causing you to feel faint today? Is it your job? Your ministry? Your finances or should I say the lack of? Has a loved one died and left you behind? Could it be a relationship matter? Maybe your past? Are you living in guilt? Does it feel you just don't have what it takes to make it as a man/woman of God? Is there unforgiveness in your heart? Whatever the case, we, the Christians, the Ecclesia; the 'Called out Ones', the remnants, those that are TRULY living for Christ cannot give up!

Notice that David begins the 27th Psalm on a high note; the Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall l I fear. He goes on to tell all that God is and has been to him in his life. He talks about how the enemy came to him to eat up his flesh but did not kill him. He thanks God for intervening. He reverences the God of his life all the way until he gets to verse 13. David stops and remembers what could and should have happened; kind of like we do today and he remembers that he almost fainted! The good part to this is when David states...unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!

I could go on and on but let me close with this, unless we believe that there is more to life than what we see, we will all faint and die! Life is not going to be easy but guess what? It is not impossible for us to survive this life! God has given us all we need and it's all found in His word. Hallelujah and thank God for His word! It is here that we find help and hope for all of our situations.

Let's take a the lesson from David in Psalm 27:13 so that we may not be guilty of having fainting spells. First of all, David teaches us how to prioritize, how to put God first. He acknowledged God for who He was, his Light and his Salvation. Whenever we put God first, we will remain on our feet! There are so many people, places and things that could and sometimes do take the place of God. Shame on us all! God is a jealous God and will not have any other god before Him! We must learn to put God in the place He belongs and leave Him there. Next David shows us to have the right perspective. If he had constantly focused on all that the enemy could have done to him, he would have lost control. David realized that the enemy had some power but God has ALL power! His enemies tried to get to him but they stumbled and fell! And the same will happen to ours if we turn them over to God! Even the enemy of doubt, fear and insecurity! If you want to know what kind of perspective a person has just listen to what they talk about most! What's on your mind right now? Our mind cannot be on satan and the Lord at the same time! Where's your focus? And last, David realized that all he needed, all that he ever needed was living inside of him. David was favored all of his life! He had the right provision which was supplied by his maker. Our Lord has promised to supply us with all we need as well. When we look at our own lives sometimes, we feel that we do not have enough of this or that. We hear nothing but bad news on a daily basis but it's good to know that OUR God desires for us to be safe from all danger and harm. Those people that I mentioned previously all had their share of adversity and trouble. However, the end result was always another win for Jesus! His entire journey was that we may have a good and prosperous life! That does not mean that we will not go through some things. We will all have our moments of I would have fainted unless...... but let us not rest right there. We must continue in this race to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

People of God, don't lose heart in these trying times. God has not forgotten about His people. Galatians 6:9 reminds us not to become weary when doing well, when doing God's work, when keeping His commandments; for as we wait on Him and serve Him with our whole heart, we will reap a harvest..oh yes we will! But the stipulation to that promise is IF we FAINT not! We cannot see anything if we have blacked out! Stay alert and remain aligned in God's word

 Be encouraged and above all, be blessed today!