Sabbath

Fridays are our sabbath day in the Hudnall home. This is the day we honor the Lord each week through rest, worship, and spending time together. God commands us in Exodus 20 to keep a sabbath. This is one of the Ten Commandments, and He instructs us to honor Him by working six days and resting from our labor, and work on the seventh. We are also told to teach our sons and daughters to honor the Lord by keeping a sabbath.

Our kids are teenagers, and this has long been our family tradition since they were small. Admittedly, life can become so busy that it’s difficult to keep a sabbath. Yet, God’s way is still the only way that leads to life, blessing, and lasting fulfillment. One of the best things about a sabbath day is more time for family prayer and worship. Occasionally, we decree the names of God and praise Him for Who He is. Each family member takes turns leading in praise to God for being Jehovah Rohi: The Lord, our Shepherd. Jehovah Shalom: The Lord is our peace. Jehovah M’Kaddesh: The Lord our Sanctifier. Jehovah Shammah, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Tsidkenu, and so on. Recently, something unique happened when it was my turn to lead in praising God for being Jehovah Nissi: The Lord our Victor. It was as if the Holy Spirit hit a divine pause button and spoke these words into my spirit: This is for you. This is for now. Do not miss this. I Am Jehovah Nissi, the Lord your Victor. The tangible presence of God seemed to wrap around me as I decreed His Name and praised Him for being The Lord our Victor.

This experience compelled me to open the Bible to Exodus 17, where God is exalted as Jehovah Nissi. As I reread these verses, I could sense the Holy Spirit highlighting the holy text and bringing it to life. The whole time I was reading and digging deeper into the text, there was a sense of urgency and a whisper that seemed to be repeated over and over: this is for you, this is, for now, don’t miss this.

Exodus 17 gives us the account of when the Lord gave Moses and His people victory over the Amalekites. This was a very unusual battle in that Joshua was leading the army in the battle against the Amalekites while Moses stood on the mountain with his arms lifted to God. As long as Moses’ arms were lifted high in praise, reverence, and supplication to God, they prevailed against their enemies.

However, as the battle waged on, he became tired and weak, and his arms began to fall. When his arms became too heavy and lowered, the Israelites would then begin to be overcome by their enemies. Therefore, Aaron and Hur came alongside Moses to stand with him, support him, and hold up his arms in praise and supplication to God. This act resulted in God giving Joshua and his men the victory over the Amalekites. Moses then built an altar to God to worship Him and praise Him for His victory. He named the altar Jehovah Nissi: The Lord is my banner, or The Lord is my Victor.

Throughout history, enemy forces have risen to defeat and destroy God’s people. These battles have been waging since Lucifer was cast out of heaven, and the battle continues today. Enemy forces driven by the powers of darkness have conspired relentlessly to destroy Israel and remove God’s people worldwide. Anger, hatred, persecution, and execution of God’s people continue to rise daily. Read and pray through Psalm 2 for comfort and encouragement concerning this reality. This powerful prophetic Psalm still applies to God’s people today, in the hour in which we live.

We must remember that He is Jehovah Nissi: The Lord our Victor. When the forces of hell begin to press in against you, lift your arms like Moses, fix your eyes on Jesus, and decree His victory over your life, family, city, church…and nation. This is how we fight our battles! We lift our hands in surrendered praise to the God Who has already won the victory!

Pastor Kelly Hudnall