The Lord says:
"The tide is shifting! The tide is shifting! The tide is shifting! For I am turning the tide for you. So, fear not, if you are surrounded by fiery darts and spears. For I am beginning to reverse the situation to your favor, even against the odds. Put your faith and hope in Me. Put your confidence and trust in Me. Look to Me and My Word. I am the Lord who answers. I am the Lord who comes to your aid. Watch how I begin to turn things around for you."
Beloved, no matter what you have been facing recently, whether in your office, in your organization, in the ministry, or in any area of your life, there is hope for you! There is hope that the Lord can turn things around for you! Your part is to keep putting your trust and confidence in the Lord!
Psalm 118:15-16 (The Message) says, 'Hear the shouts, hear the triumph songs in the camp of the saved? "The hand of God has turned the tide! The hand of God is raised in victory! The hand of God has turned the tide!"'
Hallelujah! Indeed, the hand of the Lord has turned the tide for you! The hand of the Lord is raised in victory for you! As long as you are on God's side, and as long as you walk in obedience to Him, His hand will be raised against all those works of darkness against you. You are going to sing songs of triumph and victory!
This psalm does not have an author in its title, but many Bible scholars believe it was David who wrote it.
Now, David knew what it's like to be surrounded by 'fiery darts, arrows, and spears'. In fact, at a certain period of time, David was being 'hunted' relentlessly by King Saul. Yet David also saw how God turned the tide for him in the end! The same it is for you and in your situation, because you too are a beloved of God! The name 'David' means 'Beloved'.
What is the definition of 'turning the tide'?
It can mean any of these:
- bringing a turnaround (to your favor)
- reversing a bad situation (to your favor)
- reversing the course of events (to your favor)
That's what 'turning the tide' means. And the Lord has spoken today that the tide is turning for you!
So, whatever not-so-good situation that you may be facing at the moment, be it in your career, in your business, in your finance, or even in your health, or in any other area of your life, the Lord wants you to know that He can turn things around for you, even against the odds! Nothing is impossible to Him. With Him, all things are possible!
Psalm 118:5-6 (NKJV) says, 'I called on the Lord in distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?'
Indeed, if God is for you, who can be against you? The expression 'set me in a broad place' here means you are not being stifled by the enemy anymore! In other words, you are set free to be who God wants you to be! Beloved, walk in this time and season! Walk in this freedom and victory that the Lord has given to you! Walk in triumph!
Psalm 118:8-9 (NKJV) says, 'It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.'
You see, God does put authority above us for the betterment of our lives on this earth. However, every form of authority on this earth may rise and fall. But if you put your trust in the Lord your God who will never fall, the Lord God Almighty, you are like standing on the solid ground and solid rock! Come what may, be it high waves, strong winds, or violent storms, none of these can shake you!
Psalm 118:13-14 (NKJV) says, 'You push me violently, that I might fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.'
Indeed, the Lord your God knows how to come to your aid. He knows how to save you from all those 'fiery darts, arrows, and spears' that the enemy throw against you! He knows how to defend you from any form of attack, be it attack to your reputation, attack to your good name, or even attack out of jealousy against you!
Just look at David who wrote this psalm. In spite of what had happened to David, the Lord knew how to turn the tide to his favor! For the record, King Saul was jealous of David. No matter how faithful David was to King Saul, King Saul saw David as a threat to his kingship. King Saul couldn't take it when someone else was rising up to do greater things than him. In fact, King Saul actually had made a vow not to kill David! (1 Samuel 19:6-7) But he broke his vow and promise time and again!
When King Saul sought to kill David out of his own insecurity and jealousy against David, the Lord always knew how to protect and defend David. Ironically, at one time, it was King Saul's own son (Jonathan) and own daughter (Michal) who came to David's rescue! (1 Samuel 19:4-5, 1 Samuel 19:11-17)
Beloved, are you in a situation where you have been falsely accused, you have been 'hunted', or some people are just plain jealous against you? Take heart. The Lord is with you. Continue to humble yourself before the Lord. Continue to look to the Lord. The Lord your God is not dead. He will know how to come to your rescue. He will know how to come to your aid. Trust Him and His Word. Put your confidence in Him. He is a God who is still alive in your situation, whatever you may be facing at the moment.
Fast forward to 1 Chronicles 10. That's when King Saul met his tragic end. The archers hit him, and he was wounded by the archers. If only David was there, things would have been so much different. Remember, it was David who has the anointing from the Lord to defeat the Philistines. But over here, there was no more protection for King Saul. King Saul eventually died, and all his household died together (1 Chronicles 10:1-6). What a tragic end! Upon seeing what had happened to King Saul, all the men of Israel also fled and escaped for their lives. Israel fell into the hands of the Philistines (1 Chronicles 10:7).
In 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 (NKJV), it's written, 'So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not inquire of the Lord; therefore the Lord killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.'
If you read from verse 13 to 14 here, this was God's verdict against Saul. God saw Saul as someone who's unfaithful to what He has spoken. God saw Saul as someone who did not seek Him and did not inquire of Him. Therefore, at that time, God pulled him down, and raised up David to be the new king. That's how God turned the kingdom over to David, a man after God's heart, a man who's faithful to God. The rest is history. The people began to gather around David and acknowledged him as their new king. Israel went on to become a great nation under the kingship of David.
So beloved, take heart, because the tide is shifting for you too! God has begun His work, and He is in the midst of turning the tide for you! Continue to be a man (or a woman) after God's heart. Continue to live a life that is surrendered and yielded to the Lord. And the Lord will know how to do His part. Amen!
