Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale Daily DevotionalSample

Jehovah-nissi In biblical times, every army had a flag or banner that served as a rally point for the troops. Imagine it: You're in the thick of battle, dust fills the air, shrieks and screams surround you, swords and spears are flashing in every direction, limbs are flailing, and in the midst of all this confusion, your life is on the line. How do you get your bearings? How do you keep your sanity amidst this calamity? You look for the banner, because it represents the stability and strength of your army. As crazy as the battle is right in front of you, as long as you see your army's banner held aloft, you're filled with a sense of purpose and hope. It gets you through the chaos and leads you to victory. The Hebrew word for this rallying-point, this banner, is the word nissi. And it's after Moses experiences God's deliverance in battle that he joins the personal name of God, Jehovah, with this word to form the name Jehovah-nissi, or "The-Lord-Is-My-Banner." Moses was declaring that the Lord was the One who led him through the calamity of battle and into victory. By invoking the name Jehovah-nissi, Moses was saying that God Himself was his rallying-point. Now let's apply this to us. Life often feels like a battlefield. There's turmoil and chaos. We can't see straight or hear clearly. It seems like we're being attacked from every direction. How do we keep sane? How do we collect our bearings and prevail? We prevail by looking up, by looking to Jehovah-nissi, our banner, our rallying-point. Regardless of how hectic life seems, we know everything is under control because He's always there, unflinching and unflappable, strong and stable, when we're not. He strengthens our heart by His very presence, and He fills us with the spiritual might we need in order to be victorious. As crazy as the battle is right in front of you, as long as you see your army's banner held aloft, you're filled with a sense of purpose and hope. It gets you through the chaos and leads you to victory. Think about it... What does this passage reveal to me about God? What does this passage reveal to me about myself? Based on this, what changes do I need to make? What is my prayer for today?