The sports world is never dull nor inactive just as the Spirit realm is constantly churning and producing in one manner or another. With my spiritual ears tuned to the frequency of heaven, I’ve been hearing, “It’s time to go on the offense.”
Monday, January 9, 2023, delivered the official 2022 NFL championship football preview. As of today, 14 teams are remaining in the playoffs. Football fans far and wide will have their attention focused upon Glendale, Arizona, on February 12, 2023, to see who will be showing off the Vince Lombardi trophy after four official quarters of the Super Bowl, unless the game goes into overtime.
Decoding Prophetic Symbols From Sports.
Football’s positive prophetic symbols are spiritual warfare, ministry, (the game of) life, life’s principles, the business realm and all that encompasses, and the object of people’s attention, especially as it relates to the Super Bowl. Negative connotations are idolatry and focusing on worldly things.
Fourteen (using the sports analogy of the 14 NFL teams headed into the playoffs) symbolizes deliverance, liberty, freedom, double amount of spiritual perfection (7 is spiritual perfection, maturity, and completion), testing, the fear of the Lord, and generational promises.
Taking A Page From King David’s PlayBook.
One never knows if King David played the equivalent of modern-day football during his lifetime, but believers in Jesus Christ can learn so many valuable lessons when taking a page from his playbook as we study his life in-depth.
When trying to select a stellar example of him going on the offense, I settled upon the timeframe from 2 Samuel Chapter 5 wherein all Israel assembled at Hebron to anoint David as king.
“So David went on and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.” (2 Samuel 5:10)
And, to no one’s surprise, just as someone rises to the pinnacle of power, the enemy is hot on his trail.
The Promised Land – A Mine Field of Enemies.
Prior to Moses and the Israelites claiming Canaan as their Promised Land from God, one of the chief enemies in this minefield was the Philistines.
The name Philistine means migratory (Genesis 21:32).
King David incurred the Philistine’s wrath going all the way back to when he was a young shepherd boy and his father sent him to feed his sheep and check on his other sons. It was during this encounter that he killed Goliath, the Philistine’s champion. (1 Samuel 17:1-54)
A lot of history and water flowed under the bridge, as the ol’ saying goes, from King David’s youth until his coronation.
Co-Labor With the Lord To Break Through Your Enemies.
If it’s time to go on the offense with your life, it’s imperative to allow the Lord to break through your enemies as you co-labor with Him and follow His leading.
Picking up the scriptural narrative in 2 Samuel 5:17:
“Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. So David inquired of the Lord, saying, ‘Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?’
“And the Lord said to David, ‘Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.’
“So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, ‘The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.’ Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim. And they left their images there, and David and his men carried them away.
“Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. Therefore David inquired of the Lord, and He said, ‘You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.’ And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.”
God’s strategies that He imparted to King David for defeating the Philistines were not a one size fits all. In the first battle at Baal Perazim, God delivered the Philistines into David’s hands. (2 Samuel 5:17-21)
When the Philistines returned to the Valley of Rephaim the second time, the Lord sent an angelic army to go ahead of King David and his army to strike the camp of the Philistines.
The sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees was the prophetic signpost and sound of the angelic army to help Israel’s army secure their victory. (2 Samuel 5:22-25)
God’s Time Is Always The Perfect One.
Spiritual time exists outside of our linear time, but God’s time is always the perfect one.
On March 4, 2021, my prophetic blog post addressed this subject. The central verse can be found in Ecclesiastes, 3:1,
“To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven.”
I would invite you to read this blog post as it spells out the difference between the seasons, times, and purposes of our lives. All three are intertwined but can be very contrasting. https://sheilaeismann.com/spiritual-time/
Meditating upon the information in my March 4, 2021 blog post might assist you to determine whether or not it’s time for you to go on the offense in your life.
Prophetic Insights For Daily Living.
#1. If this prophetic word resonates with you, there will be a spiritual and physical application to it. Seek the Lord for His guidance, and He will be faithful to give you the specifics through the Holy Spirit as you spend time with them.
As I’ve been writing this, I am sensing that perhaps there’s an application for business people (one of the prophetic symbols for football).
With the global markets and financial realms agitating like a washing machine cycle spinning out of control, take a deep dive into your dollars and cents to see if they make sense.
One example might be to ask yourself if your business is located in a high-rent district, is it time to relocate even if it’s just 10 blocks away or ten miles down the road? This is just one question that the Holy Spirit may pose to you as you seek God’s wisdom and guidance.
#2. Implementing the sport’s analogy of the upcoming Super LVII, I’m confident each team will be looking for their “breakthrough” to defeat the opposing team.
Do you need a breakthrough in any area(s) of your life? If so, which ones?
At the first of each year, many people set goals in all of the important spheres of their lives such as family, personal, relationships, spiritual, financial, fitness, etc.
Is this something that you have felt led by the Holy Spirit to do?
#3. Are there some defining victories that you need to secure in 2023?
Who and/or what are the equivalent of the Philistines in your life?
Perhaps you’ve battled them (the who) or it (the what) for a very long time, and now, it’s high time to get rid of them once and for all. With God’s help, all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26 and Luke 1:37)
It’s instructive to note that King David first inquired of the Lord before he moved in any direction to attack his enemies, the Philistines. This is the primary reason he secured the victories with the Lord’s help.
#4. Focusing upon one of the prophetic symbols for the number 14, is there something that you need help getting delivered from? The name Philistine means migratory, and there can be times in our lives when the enemy continues to move or migrate with us until we get a breakthrough and are finally delivered from the negative effects.
#5. Without a doubt, this is the absolute and optimum time to go on the offense with our spiritual gifts. Jesus commands us to, “Occupy till I come.” (KJV) The New King James Version of this verse reads, “Do business till I come.” (Luke 19:13)
The business aspect of this scripture verse is most interesting as it corresponds to one of the positive prophetic symbols for football. On February 22, 2022, I addressed the subject of “Occupy until I [Jesus] come” in my blog post titled “No Early Retirement.” I’ve included the link for easy access: https://sheilaeismann.com/retirement/
Devoting some time to self-reflection, we must ask ourselves if fear, discouragement, distraction or any other ploy of the enemy is hindering us from fulfilling our God-given destiny and spending our spiritual talents in a spiritual business manner.
Ergo, whether you’re a football fan or not, may this prophetic word and the Bible verses listed below minister encouragement and hope to you as we embark upon a new year.
Deut. 20:3-4, “And he [God] shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’”
Psalm 32:8, “I [God] will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.”
Until the next message,
SFE (Sheila, Fellow Encourager)
Sheila F. Eismann, Prophetic Seer, Blogger, & Author, publishes her blog posts endeavoring to encourage others through God’s word. Her writings include instructions on how to apply prophetic insights for daily living.
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