Powerful Keys to Overcoming the Enemy

The Lord gives us these powerful keys to overcome the enemy so we can live a victorious life here and now. He is so gracious and kind and He actually makes it so easy for us, if we would only choose to obey. 

 A few weeks ago, I went through a very tough time in my business and almost lost my biggest client. I was restless all night and just couldn’t fall asleep. I was so stressed that I wanted to vomit. I don’t think I have ever experienced such distress over work, before.

So I decided to talk it over with the Lord to get some comfort. Here I was at the beginning of what He told me was my entrance into the “Promised Land” and now this. After we lost everything in 2009, the Lord has been telling me that He was going to restore everything we lost and I have been waiting (not always patiently), for 11 years. And now just when He confirmed that the time has come for full restoration and I started seeing exponential growth in my business, I stood to lose it all again.

I couldn’t understand it and wanted answers. I asked the Lord why this was happening and sure enough, He immediately gave me this answer in Exodus 17:

Exodus 17:8-16

The Amalekites Defeated

8 The Amalekites ¹ came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim ².

9 Moses ³ said to Joshua⁴, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God ⁵ in my hands.”

10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron ⁶ and Hur ⁷ went to the top of the hill.

11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.

12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.

13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword ⁸.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”

15 Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.

16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the Lord, the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation.”

What the Holy Spirit revealed to me in this short passage blew my mind and caused me to understand obedience in a whole new way. I praise God that I learnt so much from this short passage of scripture, my life will never be the same again. The Lord told me that it is His good pleasure to give us the keys of the Kingdom and here He has given me these powerful keys to overcoming the enemy.

As I dissected this passage I could more fully understand what the Spirit of the Lord wanted to show me.

8 things were highlighted and I began my treasure hunt into the deeper meaning of this passage.

1. The Amalekites

Though I couldn’t find the actual meaning of the name I found that the Amalekites were the enemy of the Israelites, which showed me that for us it signifies our fight with the enemy.

2. Rephidim – resting places

According to Smith’s Bible Dictionary “Rephidim ” means: rests or stays, i.e. resting places. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 4:11 that we have to work to enter the rest, and that we do it through obedience.

Hebrews 4:11

Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

3. Moses

I sat wondering about the scripture and what Moses could signify and the Holy Spirit quickly reminded me that he signifies the law. Moses brought us the law and in our lives, the Lord also speaks to us individually and shows us what He wants us to do and what He doesn’t want us to do. Those things become the ‘law’ in our personal lives.

4. Joshua

From the Hebrew name יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (Yehoshu’a) meaning “YAHWEH is salvation”, from the roots יְהוֹ (yeho) referring to the Hebrew God and יָשַׁע (yasha’) meaning “to save”. … After Moses died Joshua succeeded him as leader of the Israelites and he led the conquest of Canaan. His original name was Hoshea. Joshua is the one who entered into the Promised Land and he signifies us, the saved or born-again children of God.

5. The Staff of God

The Staff of God signifies the authority of God. It’s worthy to note that Moses went up to the mountain which represents God’s presence with the staff of God that represents God’s authority. So we need to spend time with God in His presence and He will give us His authority.

6. Aaron

Aaron was the High Priest of Israel and that immediately reminded me that he represents Jesus as our High Priest. So Jesus, who is the Word of God and also God’s authority is standing on our right side to help us uphold the ‘law’.

7. Hur

I couldn’t find much about Hur in the Bible other than the meaning of his name that is: “Liberty, whiteness, hole.” The first thing that came to mind was:

 2 Corinthians 3:17

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

And then another scripture came to mind:

Romans 8:16

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

So it is very obvious from these two scriptures that Hur can represent the Holy Spirit in this passage as He is the One that brings liberty or freedom and He testifies or witnesses with us that we are children of God. So the Holy Spirit is on our left as the power of God, also helping us to uphold the ‘law’. This is absolutely amazing. We have the power and authority of God supporting us to be obedient to His Word. Jesus himself and the Holy Spirit is there to support us in the presence of God so we can be victorious.

8. The Sword

Then lastly we see in Ephesians 6:17 that the sword of the spirit is the Word of God.

Ephesians 6:17

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

What does that mean? Joshua conquered the enemy on the battlefield with the sword. And in the very same way, we will conquer the enemy by the Word of God. This is not referring to the Bible, but to the very Word that God has spoken to you personally. And that could be through scripture, dreams, prophecy, sermons or any other way in which He chooses to speak to you.

In my example, the Lord told me that I am now entering my ‘promised land’ and that I would see a restoration of everything we lost and more. Also, He gave me a Word that I would experience exponential growth and that is what I speak on the battleground. Every time it looks like things are going backwards, I refuse to allow fear into my heart and I proclaim the Word of God over my life. I use the Key of the Kingdom (my words) to open the doors of heaven in my life.

For many years while I was waiting for the Lord to open the doors to my promised land, I became tired and disappointed a lot because the doors just wouldn’t open, no matter how hard I tried to open them. But what I realized this year is that my very words are the key that will open or shut the doors. I was waiting for God and He was waiting for me. How sad!

In summary, the Lord showed me that these are powerful keys to overcoming the enemy:

Moses and Joshua both represents my life. If I uphold the law in my life and spend time in the presence of God, both Jesus and the Holy Spirit will help me overcome the enemy on the battlefield of my everyday life. When I get tired I have Jesus and the Holy Spirit next to me to hold my arms in the air.

A few years ago the Lord told me not to drink alcohol and coffee any more. This is ‘my law’, not yours necessarily. But during this year I went through a very tough personal battle and I started questioning every promise that the Lord has ever given me. I allowed doubt to creep into my heart and I became rebellious. I discarded everything I believed for a while and as a result, also decided that I would no longer obey ‘my law’.

I started drinking coffee again and had a glass of wine now and again. While I was slowly healing from the disappointment and hurt I experienced during the year, my faith started building again and the Holy Spirit ever so gently nursed me back to health. The gentle Holy Spirit taught me how to overcome the snare of the devil: offence. I experienced no judgment or condemnation from Him, at all.

But after that night that I experienced this panic attack from the business contract, I might lose, the Lord gave me this passage of scripture in Exodus 17 and all of a sudden He opened my eyes to see what was really happening around me in the spirit.

I was not upholding ‘my law’ or the Word of God in my life, and as a result, I was losing on the battlefield, which was my everyday life. I created an opening for the enemy to attack me because of my disobedience.

That very moment when the Lord revealed this to me I repented and made a decision to uphold ‘my law’ and asked the Holy Spirit and Jesus to help me keep it forever. Within a day the entire situation was turned around and the contract was saved. My income has doubled since the beginning of 2020 and for me, it has been the best year spiritually and financially, since 2008.

Joshua overcame the enemy with the sword and so we overcome our enemy, the devil, with the Word of God in our lives. That thing that the Lord has said to me is my sword on the battlefield. And I have the choice to be obedient or not. If I uphold the law, I win and if I disobey I lose. The power is in our own obedience and our in own mouth:

Proverbs 18:21

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

I always heard this scripture but have never fully understood how much power I had in my own mouth! I never understood how these powerful keys to overcoming the enemy worked, until now.

Speak life, Charlene! Speak the Word of God and be obedient to His Word so I can overcome the enemy.

The Lord wants to bless us and make our lives enjoyable just like He did for me when He gave me a Delicious Ice Cream on a Hot Summer’s Day.

Hallelujah.