This past Sunday, our pastor preached a message out of Exodus 17, entitled, ‘God Can Be Trusted?’ One of the verses he highlighted was verse 15, where Moses built an altar to celebrate the Israelite’s victory over the Amalekites. Moses called the altar, ‘The LORD is My Banner,’ or Yehovah Nissi.

Our pastor asked the question, “Whose banner are you fighting under?” And went on to say, “Be careful about which banner you are fighting under. There isn’t any victory unless we fight under the banner of Jesus Christ.”

The word ‘Banner,’ or Nissi, did not leave me. It rolled over and over in my mind and I knew God had more He wanted to reveal. I went to Strong’s Concordance and looked up the word.

Nissi is #3071 from #5251. It is spelled from right to left with a Nun, Samech, and a Yod. Nun stands for life, restoration and action. Samech stands for support, to lean upon, the heart of God. And Yod stands for completion of something, God’s right hand of power.

When you put the meaning of those three letters together, you get:

It is God’s heart that we lean on Him for support and as we do, He restores life to us with His right hand of power–completing His will.

So when we say the LORD is our banner, we are declaring that we are in God’s care and we are leaning on Him completely to fulfill His will in and through us.

Stop and think about this. The One who created us, Who holds the planets and stars in orbit and gave His life to redeem us , forever freeing us from sin’s bondage is with us. He is the wisdom of the ages, Love itself, who came in human form to teach us how to live in victory–the victory He won for all of us with His own blood. He is the One who took our punishment and then went to hell to get the keys of death and sin so that we would never again have to fear either of them. This One wants us to lean on Him for support.

We’d be fools not to, yet how many of us go to Him only as a last resort. Often we’ve tried all our bright ideas and failed, before we ask Him for help.

This One is our Banner of declaration over the enemy of our souls. The Great I Am is leading us, He is with us, He is for us, and His plan for us is to overcome and have dominion over all the enemy and his schemes. He’s already made a public spectacle of him. Our Banner sits in heaven and laughs at the enemy attempts to undo what He’s already done.

As we go into 2021, with all its uncertainties and threats, let’s make sure we are under the Banner of the LORD. Let’s trust Him with all of our hearts. May we lean NOT on our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge Him–seeking, yielding to His counsel as He directs our paths. Let’s remember that He is leading us in a parade of triumph regardless of the circumstances. You see, IN Him, we’ve already won the victory. We are never fighting for victory we are fighting from victory.

2 Corinthians 2:14 “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.“

Colossians 2:14-15  “Jesus…having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us, has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.“

1 Corinthians 15:57-58 “But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing your labor is not in vain in the Lord.“

So, regardless of the way this year ends, or 2021 begins, we can celebrate the victory we have in Jesus Christ. We can lean on Him for support and know that He hears and will supply all that we need to do His will.

He told us, “In this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. And Paul told us, “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:31

Thank You Abba for seeing us through 2020 and thank You that You go before us into 2021 with a Banner of Victory.

Shalom ♥