This song from the mid-90s has been replaying in my mind lately: “I went to the enemy’s camp, and I took back what he stole from me.” (Scroll down to listen to the full song.)
In 1 Samuel 30, we read that while David and his men were away, the Amalekites (David’s enemy) attacked Ziklag (David’s city), burned it, and took the inhabitants captive.
David’s first reaction was distress and grief (he and his men “wept until they had no more power to weep” – verse 4)
But then, David “encouraged [or strengthened] himself in the Lord,” (verse 6), sought the Lord’s direction (verse 8), and then went to the Amalekites camp and took back what they stole (verses 17-19).
Satan comes only to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10), but Jesus has already won the victory on His cross (Colossians 2:15).
When Satan tries to steal from us, our first natural reaction may be distress, grief, and weeping, but if we are in Christ (and all believers are), we fight from a position of victory, not defeat.
So like David, we should encourage ourselves in the Lord. We should have the attitude of, “How dare the enemy try to steal what Christ died to purchase for me?” And using the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18), we should march right into the enemy’s camp and take back what he’s tried to steal from us.
Amen and Amen!!!!