Pursue, Overtake and Recover

Pursue, Overtake and Without Fail, Recover All

“So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.” 1 Samuel 30:8

Beloved, I welcome you to another special Sunday. Today, we will look at strategies to overcome the enemies of our lives using the experience of one of the greatest kings that ever lived, David.

David was a great warrior and king who trained in the art of warfare while catering for his father’s sheep. He single-handedly faced great enemies and overcame them. He withstood life threatening enemies of the wild including the king of the jungle-the lion and the bear. Prior to his ascension to the throne, he was a fugitive in the land because the reigning king, Saul wanted to kill him. While running for his life, he, his troop and their families found refuge in Ziklag. On an occasion he was called upon to fight with them against Israel (his people) but the princes of Philistia rejected him and sent him back to Ziklag. When they returned to Ziklag, they met the place plundered and all (their wives, children and belongings) were taken. David and his men wailed till they had no strength in them. The sad thing was that his men blamed him for this and planned to stone him to death. However, David did something that turned around their situation, he consulted God and God said, Pursue, Overtake and without fail, Recover all.

What does it mean to Pursue?

To pursue can be defined as to chase after someone or something. When you pursue, there must be speed involved. It means that whatever you are pursuing is either fleeing or ahead of you.

Have you had to chase after something important or someone important before? Can you remember the level of energy you put into it? Just like David we have lost important things and people before. Some of us have given up on such things or people but today, I want to encourage you that sometime ago, David was where you are today and he didn’t give up. You cannot give up if you want to win. Remember, winners never quit. Proverbs 24:16a says, ‘but a righteous man might fall seven times and rise again..’ As a believer, you are expected to rise and pursue.

Like David, there is a starting point to any pursuit. You must consult God. David did not rise up to pursue, he consulted God (see 1 Samuel 30:7). It is not everything you lose that you need to recover. It is not everyone you lose that you need to pursue after. God knows the end from the beginning hence you must always ask Him before you embark on any pursuit.

Pursue to Overtake?

To overtake means to catch up and surpass your target. Also, it means to come suddenly or unexpectedly upon someone or something. Before you embark on any pursuit, be sure that you are committed to overtake. A lot of us give us in our life’s battle too early. We pray for a few days and stop. We are vibrant in the Lord, two or three out of the seven days in a week. A man of God said that we should not start a battle that we cannot finish. When we decide to pursue for recovery, we have started a war. We must see it to a successful end by overtaking and recovering all without fail. The secret to pursuing to overtake is the help of God. Isaiah 40:30 reads, ‘but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like the eagles, they shall run (pursue) and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint’. Examples in the bible where the Holy Spirit helped believers to pursue and overtake are in 1 Kings 18:26, ‘Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.’ Elijah was able to overtake a chariot when the hand of the Lord came upon him. Likewise, in Acts 8:29-30, Philip pursued and overtook a chariot as well, “Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

When we pursue with our human strength, we will not overtake but when we pursue with the strength from God, we will surely overtake.

Pursue to Overtake and Recover All

Beloved, this evening, I urge you not to be like most believers that stopped on the way without overtaking and recovering all that the enemy stole from them. As you read this, I challenge you to rise with Holy anger to pursue, overtake and recover all without fail.
Have you lost your health to sickness? Wealth? Joy? Marriage? Job? Money? Peace? The enemy steals both tangible and intangible things. As believers we must understand that nothing happens in the physical that has not been concluded in the spiritual. Job’s predicaments were settled in the spirit ahead of the reality in the physical. Daniel’s prayers were delayed in the spiritual until Archangel Michael went to release the angel with the answer to the prayers. It took a spiritual battle. If Daniel had not continued (pursued) for 21 days, he would not have overtaken and recovered all.

When we pursue, God sends help to make our victory seamless. David met a young man abandoned by the enemy troupe on the way and he led them to the camp of the enemies. God sent Archangel Michael to help in Daniel’s case.

The battle to Recover without fail

There is a battle that must be won before you can recover without fail. David had to win the same as noted in 1 Samuel 8:17-19, ‘Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled. 18 So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away, and David rescued his two wives. 19 And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; David recovered all.’ You must fight to destroy every enemy in the place of prayer. It may demand that you fast like Daniel and pray like Elijah and Elisha. Until you see the end of the battle, you may not recover all. Persistence is required.

The secret of the victory

No one wins any battle without a loot. There is always more to that which you fought for. Whenever you arise to pursue and overtake successfully, you will recover all without fail with some extra. David did not only recover all that he lost but he got so much more that he distributed it amongst his friends in many cities. 1 Samuel 30:26, ‘Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoil to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Here is a present for you from the spoil of the enemies of the LORD”. Verses 27-31 listed the locations of the beneficiaries.

Beloved, are there areas of your life that you still experience challenges in? Have you lost precious things before and may have given up after trying to recover to no avail? Will you try again and do it the right way this time? If yes, then all you need to:

• Ask God for direction: Jeremiah 33:3 says, ‘Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know’
• Ask God for strength to pursue: 1 Chronicles 16:11 says, ‘Seek The Lord and His strength, seek His face forevermore.’ Without God’s strength and help (The Holy Spirit), you cannot pursue and overtake to recover anything

Beloved, it is time to arise, pursue, overtake and without fail recover all.

In all of these, if you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ then you cannot seek the face of the Lord. You need to start from there. Reach out for Him now that you have the time? Pray the prayer of repentance below:
‘Lord Jesus, I come in total humility and ask that You forgive me all my sins. I acknowledge that You died to save me from the power of sin and death. I accept you as my Lord and Saviour. I pray that You release the Holy Spirit of promise to guide me into all truth to enable me live a life pleasing to You every day of my life. All these I pray in Jesus Christ name, amen’.

Congratulations for your name has been transferred to the book of life. God bless you. If you need further help with your walk with God, do contact us with this email JesusShopperteam@gmail.com