18 Jan If He Goes Before Me…
I’m starting off today’s devotional with the chorus of a song that I’m certain 99 percent of you have never heard. When I was in prayer today, this old song was in my heart/on my mind.
If He goes before me
How could I ever lose
If He goes before me
Before I ever begin
I know I’ll win
If he goes before me
These lyrics are from an old Whitecross song titled, yes you guessed it, “If He Goes before me.“ This song is nostalgic for me. I heard this Christian album shortly after I gave my heart to the Lord. I remember a season of struggle as I worked to make significant changes in my life. Trying to shed the past and embrace this whole new world of being a Christian was a challenge. I remember listening to this song over and over during this era of my life. It took me a while to shed my past. I know some people flip the switch and don’t skip a beat, but it was a process for me. A process that I likely would not have overcome had my mom not moved me to a new town and got me away from the crew I had been running with.
I remember hearing this song and praying to God, asking Him to go before me, because I knew at that point in my walk with the Lord, that I wasn’t strong enough to make it on my own. I needed a lot of help. I needed Him to go before me. The cool thing about that type of prayer is it gets the attention of God. God loves it when we NEED Him, when we cry out to Him with REAL need.
About a year later, a friend of mine named Steven, gave me a book on prayer. That book talked about some of the names of God (Jehovah). I devoured this new info and learned those names by heart. One of those names was Jehovah Nissi, which means the The Lord is My Banner. A couple weeks ago, I touched on this in a sermon, but in case you missed it, this name of God is powerful. This may be my favorite of all the names of Jehovah provided in the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament, when the Israelites would go to war, they would send the tribe of Judah in first. Not because these guys were elite warriors, they did so because they understood the true power of worship. Out in front of the tribe of Judah was a guy carrying a banner with the name of Israel on it. When we talk about Jehovah Nissi, we are talking about the way He goes before us in battle. Yes, the battle is bigger than us. No, we probably aren’t able to win on our own, but it doesn’t matter. If He goes before us, how could we ever lose? I am so glad we serve a God who goes before us, declaring His name over us, in the face of our enemy. Jehovah Nissi is on our side.
Not sure what type of battle you are currently facing, but I do know that …….He goes before you. He is fighting for you. You can and will win. Maybe you feel like I did in those early days, weak, and not sure If I was going to make it? Today, I want you to know, you are going to win. Stay strong, talk to the Lord, and ask Jehovah Nissi to go before you. Make no mistake about it, He has you covered.
Exodus 17:15 (NIV)
15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.