RECOVERY

“And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; DAVID RECOVERED ALL” – 1 Samuel 30: 18-19

RECOVERY is the first step in breaking free from the grasp of sin and bondage to Satan on the pathway to possessing your possessions. Recovery precedes full Delivery of your ordained portions in destiny! “So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away…” (1Sam.30:18a). If David could recover all, why shouldn’t you? Our Lord Jesus declared: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (Jh.10:10). With Jesus on the scene of your life, the hold of Satan, the thief has been broken!

There must be a recovery of all that the devil has embezzled from believers and the Church, individually and corporately. His eroding of our righteousness; his looting of our peace; his plundering of our joy; his raiding of our health; his robbery of our victory; and his luring of our children into worldliness must stop. Satan has mocked our worship and pillaged our prayers. All of these things must be restored to us whose hope is not in ourselves but in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! The Church of the Living God must arise and pursue. We were never intended to be docile, passive, stagnant and static. Filled with the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit, we are alive, dynamic, vibrant, and pulsing with life.

In the context leading up to Ziklag, David still had to deal with Saul’s pursuit. In chapter 29, he was in Aphek, three days journey from Ziklag, while the Amalekites caused destruction at his only safe place. These were the same people who had pestered the children of Israel practically every step of the way when they left Egypt and even until the time they had settled in the Promised Land. Now, God had had enough. His instructions to Saul had been to totally annihilate the Amalekites. But Saul in his sad spiritual state refused to fulfil the perfect purpose of God. Partial obedience is equivalent to full disobedience; and what Saul refused to deal with became a thorn in the flesh of David. The Amalekites who had not been dealt with by Saul became trouble for David in Ziklag. In his absence they invaded Ziklag, captured all of the wives of David and his men, and threw him into a deep pit of discouragement.

David had six hundred men, two hundred of whom were too weary to cross the brook Besor. So he allowed them to stay behind while the others pursued. There would always be among us those whose passion for God burns bright and whose faith is real, but at times their strength dissipates and they become depressed in spirit. More than anything, they need rest, not criticism! So David and his four hundred pressed on and engaged the Amalekites (v. 9). A hint about the battle: “Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day…” (v.17a). Sometimes the battle for recovery could be prolonged. A church is not built in a day. God’s man is not made in a moment. Prayer warriors are not groomed in a hurry.

Life’s fractures may demand some time to recover. Pentecost occurred after a tarrying time. Whatever the cost is; no matter how long it takes and the commitment required, you must pursue, overtake, conquer, and recover all. No matter how difficult it seems, you serve the God of Recovery and Restoration! If you have fallen, the challenge is to get back up again. Ziklag had been looted but David, defeated and despairing, in desperation went to his Father for encouragement, strengthened himself in the Lord, and rekindled the fire of faith. He recovered in a day what he had lost over a longer period of time. Difficulties were suddenly left in the dust. Tears of defeat turned into songs of victory! You can and must recover those things that have been lost, and rise to the full potential that God has invested in you.