This morning before getting up, the Lord reminded me of the account in 1 Kings 20 where Israel went to war with Syria, how He delivered Israel even though they were vastly outnumbered by the Syrians.  You see, God is able to deliver you out of the hand of the enemy, when it seems there is no way the enemy can lose. Would you like to know how?   Let’s read about it:
1Ki 20:10  And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.
1Ki 20:11  And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.
1Ki 20:12  And it came to pass, when Benhadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.
1Ki 20:13  And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.
1Ki 20:14  And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.
1Ki 20:15  Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand.
1Ki 20:16  And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.
1Ki 20:17  And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Benhadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.
1Ki 20:18  And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.
1Ki 20:19  So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them.
1Ki 20:20  And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.

1Ki 20:21  And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
1Ki 20:22  And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.
1Ki 20:23  And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
1Ki 20:24  And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:
1Ki 20:25  And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.
1Ki 20:26  And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
1Ki 20:27  And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.
1Ki 20:28  And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
1Ki 20:29  And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day.
1Ki 20:30  But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.

In the first battle with the Syrians, Israel made a great slaughter with only 232 men, and the Syrians ran from them.  But, like the devil often does when you beat him in one battle, they came back with reinforcements in far greater number than they used in the first battle.
 This scenario plays out in our lives time and time again.  We pray and believe God to deliver us, and use the Word of God against the devil and his crew and win a victory.  Then when the devil turns and runs, we think we’re home free, but we’re not.  He always comes back for seconds, thirds, and so on.  Here, it is written, the second time Syria came against Israel in such overwhelming numbers that they were like two little flocks of kids while the Syrians filled the country.  Things didn’t look too good for Israel, did they?  Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion of Israel versus Syria.  

Noooooo, you don’t have to wait a week, you can hear it now.

Things don’t look good for us, either, when the devil comes back with reinforcements, ready to take us out.  But the Syrians made a fatal mistake, saying Israel beat them in the first battle because their God was the God of the hills, but not the God of the valleys.  That was  a big mistake.  Why?  because God isn’t just God in the hills.

Just the time when the enemy thought they could win by fighting Israel in the valleys, God showed up and told Israel that He would not allow Himself to be mocked.  And He would not only deliver Israel on the hills, but also in the valleys.  In the first battle, King Ahab was told by a Prophet that God would deliver Israel by the hand of the young men of the princes of the provinces, which totaled 232 men.  The total number of all of Israel was only 7,000 at that time, while the people of Syria were as innumerable as the dust of the earth.  Can you imagine facing that kind of multitude with 232 men? 

Can you imagine facing all the devil’s crew which are as the dust of the earth in number, and still being victorious against him as you face him seemingly all alone?  Yes, you can, because you’re NOT alone! God is with you!

 All the forces of the devil don’t scare you when you know God is on your side!  The devil would like to convince you that although you might beat him in a battle from time to time, he will win the war in the end.   But that isn’t what the Holy Bible says, is it?  Nope.  God always wins, and the devil loses.  No matter how many times you read it, the story is always the same, the devil is a loser, and God is always the winner.  And if you have made Christ Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life, the story will always be the same for you too.  The devil may win a battle here and there, and that is only when we allow ourselves to be intimidated by him.  Actually, we don’t have to lose even a battle, because our God is for us, and not against us.
Sometimes you almost start to feel sorry for the devil because he doesn’t have even the slightest chance of victory.  But don’t, because he doesn’t have any mercy on you at all.  He comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy you and everything you hold dear.  He is absolutely merciless and he enjoys his work and never takes a day off.  The devil delights in making your life miserable.  But not to worry.
As the Lord delivered Israel when the odds were overwhelmingly against them, and by the way, it was no strain at all for God to do so, He will also deliver you.  Did you get that?  There is no battle you face in life that you have to lose, for God is for you, and not against you.  He is not only the God of the hills, but He is the God of the valleys as well.  In fact, He’s the God of all creation, so no matter where you are right now, God has your back, and He has never lost a battle in all eternity.  So what are YOU worried about?  God isn’t.
I think this would be a good time to shout praises to God. Yeah I know, the devil doesn’t like that, but we don’t care what the devil doesn’t like, do we?  Our God reigns!