How the Enemy Gains Ground in Our Lives | Judges 1:34-36

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Our text today is Judges 1:34-36:

The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward. — Judges 1:34-36

We’ve watched a slow unraveling through this chapter. One tribe compromises, then another, until Israel’s momentum is gone—and by verse 34, the tide has turned. The Amorites are now pressing back. The people of Dan aren’t advancing, they’re retreating. They’ve been pushed into the hills, confined, controlled. The very enemies they were told to conquer are now conquering them.

This is what happens when we stop obeying. We lose ground. Spiritually. Emotionally. Culturally. The authority we once carried gets handed over to the very things we were called to defeat. And while Joseph’s house exerts some control—forcing the Amorites into labor—it’s too little, too late. The enemy still has territory. The borders are redrawn. And God is silent.

It’s sobering. But it’s not hopeless.

God lets us feel the weight of disobedience. Not to punish us, but to draw us back. The pain of retreat is often the catalyst for repentance. Sometimes, God allows the enemy to press in and remind us what it feels like to live without him leading. He doesn’t abandon us. He stops enabling our passivity.

So, my friend, where have you given ground? Where have you stopped fighting, and the enemy’s started pressing? It’s not too late. But the time is now. Reclaim what you’ve surrendered. Step back into obedience. Let God lead again.

ASK THIS:

1. Where have I lost spiritual ground by compromising?
2. What enemy have I allowed to reclaim territory in my life?
3. How have I mistaken God’s silence for absence?
4. What step of obedience can help me reclaim that ground today?

DO THIS:

Name one area where you’ve let sin take the lead—and today, take one bold action to take it back.

Father, I’ve given ground I was meant to guard. Give me the strength to stand again and reclaim what’s Yours. Amen

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