PUSHING BACK
(c) Morris E. Ruddick
"He said, 'Open the window toward the east,' and the king
opened it. Then Elisha said, 'Shoot!' And he shot. Then
Elisah said, 'The LORD'S arrow of victory [over your
oppressors].' Then he said, 'Take the arrows and strike
the ground,' and he struck it three times and stopped.
So the man of God was angry with him and said, 'You
should have struck five or six times until you destroyed
them.'" 2 Kings 13:17-19
This passage describes a time in which God's people
were reaching for God's intervention. What was sought
was the judgment to release the turning from the threats
of their oppressors.
The times upon us have been marked by evil. They are
days in which the masks and the subtleties have been
removed from those advancing darkness, from those who
call evil good and good evil. Many in the US were stopped
in their tracks when the last election failed to bring an
expected spiritual shift. However, there are requisites
that God's people must meet in order for His turning to
be released.
The story of David in 1 Samuel 30 unveils insights into
these requisites. From the time of his renown after
killing Goliath, David was in over his head, operating
against the odds. Eventually fleeing for his life, David
had pulled out all the stops to respond honorably to
Saul's efforts to crush him. Finally, without any question
of David hitting a low point in walking out his "calling",
he gave in and sought safety by cavorting with the
Philistines. David was flying by the seat of his pants.
Then with his activities with the Philistines abruptly
terminated, he returned to his base at Ziklag with his
remnant of warriors. Upon returning, they discovered
Ziklag had been raided by the Amalekites. They had
lost everything, including their families. It was a time
of utter despair, with no foreseeable hope for even
the next step.
With his followers disgusted and ready to stone him,
David's mantle of leadership had hit a threshold. Yet,
it proved to be a turning point for all that would
unfold from that point onward; in David's calling and
for his followers.
The scripture tells us that at that low point, in the
face of revolt and the bottom dropping out; that
David strengthened himself in the Lord and inquired
of the Lord. The word of the Lord came: he was to
pursue and all would be recovered. It was a time to
reach beyond the hopeless despair and push back.
"The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the
violent take it by force." Matt 11:12
The Reach
Navigating beyond the low points, the recesses
marked by terrible despair, begins by reaching
beyond the circumstance and touching the hem
of His garment. It involves the reach needed to
strengthen ourselves in the Lord. It involves
inquiring of the Lord and then mobilizing and
strengthening those following us to push back;
despite the way things may appear in the natural
or the spiritual condition even our faithful ones
have succumbed to.
That reach is where true leadership takes root.
That reach is where the turning and the genuine
foundations for what lies ahead will begin.
The pathway leading to a time of turning is marked
by an upheaval spoken of by Jesus (Matt 11:12):
"The Kingdom of God suffers violence and violent
take it by force." Not to be confused with forcing
issues or working things out in the flesh; Jesus
warned that the way of the kingdom would be a
narrow, difficult path.
It is a pathway beyond ourselves with encounters
that defile and unmask; revealing spiritual residues
that encumber the calling. While the situation may
push us to the wall; humility, repentance and
forgiveness are the spiritual equalizers to close
the gap from the bondages of the hidden, spiritual
residues needed to release the turning.
So it was, that despite the word from Samuel of
being anointed as king, David's arrival at Ziklag
was a key juncture.
David chose to strengthen himself in the Lord
and to seek God for a word for the next steps.
It was here that David recognized the reality
of his weakness in this process. Without the
Lord, there was no hope. It's the place where
our humility is humbled. This was the juncture
in which the Lord answered David and told him
to push back. The steps that followed proved
true and they recovered all and then some. As
for the turning, while it didn't happen all at once,
this was the point at which it began.
"He [Jesus] said to me, 'My grace is sufficient
for you, for My strength is made perfect in
weakness.'" 2 Cor 12:9
The reach at the time of turning is subtle, one
of challenge, with snares. The snare is in giving
up. The snare is in working it out in the flesh.
The snare is in failing to face the turning head-
on spiritually. The snare is in choosing the wide
path in the natural, without a word from the Lord
for the next steps. The snare is in failing to
recognize that in our weakness, His strength
will be manifested.
Beyond the Veil
The book of Hebrews points to a place spiritually
beyond the veil. It is the place in which the
apostles resided in the post-resurrection church.
It was a time when focus was given to issues that
made a difference; issues that majored in major
things. Judgments made by the leaders of the early
church flowed with the anointing and had great
power. Their judgments were not based on soulish
issues or hurt feelings.
In contrast, King Saul was angered by the mix of
David's anointing and acclaim and sought to destroy
him. Yet, it was Saul's own blind spots, obsessions
with trivia, and a reluctance to reach for the real
standard of his mantle; which combined to bring
forth the very things he feared the most.
Leadership in the early church was serious business.
It was marked by those who loved not their lives
to the death, whose very shadows (Acts 5:15)
repelled darkness. The mantle wielded by these
post-resurrection leaders pivoted on an authority
that came from ruling their own spirits to the degree
that there was not one hint of their leadership
deviating from the will of the Lord.
In keeping with that, judgment in the early church
came when the standard being established by the
Spirit was manipulated or compromised. It was swift
and incisive. Acts 5 describes this as a time when
"great fear came upon all the church and upon all
who heard these things."
David was always a man reaching for the Spirit, for
God's heart. He never lacked in his willingness to
spiritually reach beyond himself. However, his true
mantle to lead began at Ziklag, as David tapped and
entered a realm beyond himself. As he did, David
became a standard bearer for God's Kingdom rule.
The turning came and the spiritual traction began
when David was depleted of all he had in the natural;
and then in a place beyond himself, having been given
a word from the Lord, he acted on it and pushed back.
The Shift of the Standard
While there is no doubt that today there are many,
like David, who are at this point of turning and need
to strengthen themselves in the Lord, get a word and
push back; the day upon us is not unlike the time
operating with the early church. The days then,
as they are today, were evil. The response required
more than the best could offer. It took yielded leaders,
anointed to lead a band of leaders.
That is what maturity in the
Body is all about: leaders
genuinely called, refined by fire,
coming together to nurture
and lead a society of leaders.
Body maturity is a dynamic
with a higher standard of
leadership. That's both the
challenge and the edge.
"Go therefore and make disciples .... teaching them
to observe all the things that I have commanded you."
Matt 28:19-20
THAT also is our juncture. The paradigm has shifted.
The standard to be raised is as a people. The
push-back needed is from a society of leaders.
Not unlike David, many have arrived at their Ziklags
depleted, having been flying by the seat of their pants.
Ziklag, is a place where despair is replaced with
humility and iniquities surpassed. It is the place of
turning for leaders, when the charisma tied to human
exploits gives way to embracing the Kingdom standard
to lead leaders. Ziklag is the place where the shift
went from David, to a focus on the Kingdom.
This shift is a process, with wisdom we can glean
from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. While the Sermon
on the Mount might describe categories of individuals;
it is also progressive and it outlines this unfolding
bearing on growing into a people of God: from the
poor in spirit and mournful, the meek, those who
hunger and thirst after righteousness, the merciful,
the pure in heart, to the peacemakers, and the persecuted.
The words of judgment and correction spoken by
the resurrected Jesus in Revelation 2 and 3 were
words directed to specific segments of the church
in that day. Those words reset the standard for
communities mobilized for God. I like to view them
as tapping the dynamics outlined in the progression
of the Sermon on the Mount.
Even for the brethren at Philadelphia, the trusted
peacemakers; and those at Smyrna, the suffering
persecuted church, who received words of
encouragement; the words given them were serious
and raised the standard even higher. God's ways are
always progressive; and based on our reaching beyond
ourselves, even when all we have has been depleted.
God's ways are not based on what we can do for God;
but rather what we allow Him to do through us.
The church at Sardis, the poor in spirit known for
their prophetic gifts, had failed in their watchfulness
resulting in a spiritual focus considered as dead.
Pergamos, the meek, had allowed the entrance of
confusion and fallen into doctrinal compromise. Ephesus,
who had been known for their hungering and thirsting
after righteousness, had become complacent and lost
their first love. Laodicea, the merciful, had become
seduced by their own accomplishments, replacing their
zeal with a cautious, lukewarm approach. Thyatira,
the pure in heart, whose spiritual fire and works
knew no bounds; were experiencing defilement due
to the infiltration of unchecked influences within the
ranks of their leadership.
In short, none are exempt in having the standard
raised. It's not about position or past accomplishments.
It's a part of the truth of the parable of the talents
with each judged according to their own abilities. It's
ow the Kingdom advances. It involves getting beyond
ourselves to face the realities; and then together
pushing back.
The Alignment with the Turning
There comes a point when the Spirit of the Lord
draws a line in the sand. However, that will not
happen until leaders anointed and called have
transcended the threshold of operating on their
own abilities and are truly demonstrating the
humility and reach needed to advance to the
next level.
The opening scripture points to applying God's
strategy sufficiently in the right way to accomplish
the turning. The story of David at Ziklag is one in
which from the time of turning, that step by step,
little by little, everything began coming together. It
was a process, a time of alignment.
God never intended those known by His Name to be
like everyone else. We've passed a generation marked
by superstars and have come into a time in which God
shows Himself strong by means of ordinary people
doing extraordinary things.
The standard is not just higher; it is not even on the
same page. Yet in the midst of the turmoil of getting
beyond ourselves will come times ordained by God in
which a remnant stands up as catalysts for change,
as God releases His fire into the hidden lairs of darkness
that manipulate the world's infrastructures. It is a time
in which the remnant realigns and then pushes back.
"Lift up a standard on the bare hill, raise your voice
to them ..... enter the doors of the nobles; for the
Lord has commanded His consecrated ones, He has
even called His mighty warriors. The Lord is mustering
His army for battle." Isaiah 13: 2-4
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Morris Ruddick has been a forerunner and spokesman
for the call of God in the marketplace since the mid-90s.
As founder of Global Initiatives Foundation and designer
of the God's Economy Entrepreneurial Equippers Program,
Mr. Ruddick imparts hope and equips economic community
builders where God's light is dim in both the Western and
non-Western world.
He is author of "The Joseph-Daniel Calling;"
"Gods Economy, Israel and the Nations;"
"The Heart of a King;" "Something More;" and
"Righteous Power in a Corrupt World," which
address the mobilization of business and
governmental leaders called to impact their
communities with God's blessings. They are
BarnesandNoble.com and other popular outlets.
is a tax-exempt 501 (c) 3 non-profit whose efforts
are enabled by the generosity of a remnant of faithful
friends and contributors whose vision aligns with God's
heart to mobilize the persecuted church to be the head
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PO Box 370291, Denver CO 80237
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Likewise, email us to schedule a briefing for your
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2013 Copyright Morris Ruddick -
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A Sure Foundation
King David was called and chosen as a young shepherd boy. He fought the lion and the bear and slayed Goliath when no one else was able to do so. He had been through many battles but he always came out victorious. He was a leader as well as a poet and musician. He was a warrior but also a man after Gods own heart.
