Robert Ty Jones
Aug 9, 2017 · 4 min read

The Secret to Victory. 1 Samuel 7:12

I thought it was funny that the last time that we were together I was transparent with the fact that 2016 probably wasn’t my favorite year. Just seemed to be replete with a number of “L’s”. Some of you may be able to relate or perhaps maybe even this year, 2017, seemed to be bombarding you with a number of losses. It is interesting that even while writing, I am reminded of that new commercial that’s been released by Gatorade. It features prominent athletes like Karl-Anthony Towns, Serena Williams, Drew Brees, and the legend himself Michael Jordan. They are simply answering the question: Do You Really Want to Know the Secret to Victory? At the end of the commerical, Michael Jordan asks the question with a bit more emphasis, and Matt Ryan answers, “Defeat.” You know God has a unique way of dealing with our losses.

Earlier this year, I was privileged to preach in early January. I was moved to share from a passage in 1 Samuel 7. This text probably doesnt make the make the list of “notable scriptures”. But it contains some very good insight into how God sometimes deals with our places of defeat.

The Children of Israel are always in trouble. They definitely always seem to have a unique way of putting God’s parenting skills to the test. But there is something very interesting occuring in 1 Samuel 7. It reads in 1 Samuel 6:19, “…and the people mourned because the Lord has stuck the people with a great blow.” It is without question that they are in a very bad predicament. However, the present text happens with them winning a battle at a place called “Ebenezer”. This isn’t the first time we see that this name “Ebenezer” shows up in the story of the Israelites. As a matter of fact, the name would bring up a very bad memory for them. It was in 1 Samuel 4, that they faced these very same Philistines, and loss terribly to them. They lost thirty thousand soldiers on that day. And to make matter WORSE, they even lost the Ark of the Covenant!

This was not simple loss. The Ark of the Covenant was the visible and tangible representation of the Lord’s presence and now that was gone. It’s very interesting, in Hebrews 9:4, “…having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.” There are other places in Scripture that the Ark of the Covenant is referred to as the Ark of the Testimony. The Book of Hebrews shows us a bit of what it testifies to. It held manna which was a sign of God’s Provision. It held the budding staff of Aaron which was a sign of God’s Leadership. It contained the Ten Commandments which essentially is a sign of God’s Grace. You see the reason that the Children of Israel lost this first battle was simply because they mismanaged the relationship with God’s Grace, Leadership and Provision. They wanted to use the Ark as a good luck charm although their hearts were not centered totally on God. I remember my initial reading of the passage. I thought to myself, “How in the world could they ever mismanage the relationship with God’s Grace, Provision, and Leadership?” That was until I looked at my own life and noticed that I do and have done the very same thing…..smh

And so they face the very same opponent again and win, and yet Samuel names the stone of rememberance “Ebenezer”. Why in the world would he do such a thing? I think it is pretty clear in the passage. You see the last battle they lost because it wasnt that God wasn’t on their side, but because they WEREN’T on God’s side. But before they have this second battle they rededicate their lives back to God. I think Samuel names the stone Ebenezer for a very key reason. He wants to showcase that difference of the outcome of the battle when our relationship is right with God. They win the battle convincingly after rededication. God will sometimes remind us of our failures because it shows us how much different the battle can be whenever you and I have the Lord on our side and we are on his side. That is essentially why Defeat can be Secret to Victory. God Will Allow You to Lose, Just to Show you that Only With Him you Can Win!

So go back to the places where you failed with confidence! Recalibrate your life back to God. Hit the reset button on your spiritual life and go back to the place where you lost at first and know that the outcome will be different because your heart is centered on God this time!

Robert Ty Jones

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I am a just young man seeking to live his life as a servant of Christ. I am seeking to be an example and share my convictions in order to be of help to others!

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