Standing on the Promises

702 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Sa 23:11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines had gathered together into a troop where there was a piece of ground full of lentils. Then the people fled from the Philistines. 12 But he stationed himself in the middle of the field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. And the LORD brought about a great victory. Here we have another example of someone standing alone against the Philistines. Shammah stationed himself in the middle of the field. There were no trees or rocks to hide behind. No tower to offer protection. He was out in the open, vulnerable to all that the enemy wished to throw at him. Here's the thing about lentil plants. They grow to a height of 6 to 18 inches....that's it. The man had no covering except the covering of God! The ESV says that it was in this field that Shammah “took his stand and defended it AND THE LORD WORKED A GREAT VICTORY.” His victory was the Lord's doing and it happened because Shammah took a stand. This same kind of victory can be ours when we learn to stand on the promises of God! Remember the hymn, “Standing on the Promises?” It was written by Russel Kelso Carter. He was what we might describe as a “nominal Christian” even though he had serves as a minister and had written several hymns. This particular hymn was actually written BEFORE a major health crisis in his life at the age of 30. It was during this health crisis that he turned to God earnestly seeking help and healing. He knelt and made a promise that healing or no, his life was finally and forever, fully consecrated to the service of the Lord. It was from that moment that the written Word of God became alive to Carter. He began to stand upon the promises of healing, determining to believe no matter what his physical condition, no matter how he felt. Over the course of the next several months his strength returned, and his heart was completely healed! Carter lived another healthy 49 years. This song became his mantra for the rest of his life, may it be ours as well:” “Standing of the promises of Christ my King, through eternal ages let His praises ring. Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing, standing on the promises of God! Stand on the promises found in God's Word and you like Shammah will have victory over the enemy.