1 Samuel 4: 6-9,  Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”  When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid.  “A god has come into the camp,” they said, “Oh no!  Nothing like this has happened before.  We’re doomed!  Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods?  They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues.  Be strong, Philistines!  Be men or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men and fight!”

Their enemies knew and they remembered all that God had done for them and yet somehow the Israelites seemed to have “forgotten”.  This happened during the time of the Judges when all of the tribes were acting separately.  They went in and conquered the land, but as the book of Judges says, “Every man did what was right in his own eyes.”  There was no real unity and that is why the entire book of Judges tells of all of the different battles the different tribes were having to fight.  They hadn’t obeyed and they were having to deal with the consequences.  God said to drive the people out and conquer and they would have if they had stuck together, served God, and fought their battles as one.  They chose their route. 

As you grow in your walk with God make sure you are intentional in reading and studying His Word.  Remind yourself of all of the victories He has given His people, remind yourself of victories He has brought in your life and the lives of others.  Be ready to share those things with others.  Everyone needs hope and it is found in Him.  The world has no hope to offer ~ everything is so upside down and backward these days out there!  It is crucial for the sake of others that we share the hope found in the Gospel and in walking with God!  Our hearts need to be burdened for those who don’t know Him and our lives need to shine as an example of that hope!  

Pray for God to give you a passion for His Word if you don’t already have one.  Ask Him to help you to understand anything that you may not understand and press into your walk with Him.  God desires to reveal more and more of Himself to you and as it says in Jeremiah 29: 13, you will seek Him and find Him when you seek Him with your whole heart.