Leaning on God in our battles

“I’ve come to fight you in the name of the Lord Almighty.  Today the Lord will help me defeat you.”  (parts of 1 Sam. 17:45-46)

The Israelites were confronted by a giant that was larger and stronger than them.  They were so frightened they didn’t know what to do.  

Sometimes we are faced with enemies or battles that feel the same way.  And some battles take a while.  Perhaps, like the Israelites giant, the challenge in our lives is given every morning and every night for 40 days.  I once had a health issue that lasted 7 ½ years.  

We can run away and hide, like some of them did.  Or we can lean on God, as David did.  

David realized the enemy was making fun of the army of the living God, and he knew that was not ok.  They mattered to God.  

We are children of the living God, and we matter to God, as well.  

Others criticized David, belittled him, and talked down to him, as he started to rise up against the enemy.  They may do the same to us; but David was strong in his resolve.  He remembered all the previous occasions on which the Lord had helped him defeat an enemy or overcome an obstacle, and he said, “He will keep me safe now.”

The King tried to have David fight in his armor, but it didn’t fit David.  He couldn’t fight like someone else.  He had to fight like him.  When we are in our battle, or facing our enemy, we have to fight with what the Lord has given us, and trust that the Lord will keep us safe, just as He did David, and just as He has done for us in the past.

The enemy laughed in David’s face, but David said, I’ve come to you in the name of the Lord!  He didn’t try to fight in his own strength.  He didn’t have to.  He knew the Lord would help him defeat the enemy.  

He will do the same for us.  The battle may rage, we may have to endure, but the Lord will always be on our side, and He will fight for us!  When we lean into Him in our weakest moments, His strength will always carry us through; and He will prove that the enemy can be defeated with the smallest of actions.  

Just believe,

jamie

Advertisement

Believe…in God

I heard this song at church this morning and was reminded me of a devotion I wrote a while back:

David was anointed as a young man, God saying, “For the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

2 Chr. 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

The Lord showed Himself strong for David over and over again.  When David spoke to Saul about facing Goliath, he said:

“Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.  Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”  Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”  1 Samuel 17:34-37

David drew upon what God had done in the past.  God had shown Himself strong on David’s behalf, and David understood that whatever God has done in the past, He can and will do again.

David had seen God’s strength and deliverance, and he continued to see God’s might throughout his life.  The Psalms are full of prayers and songs about God’s faithfulness, might, and victory.

Before David died, he was still praising God for His faithfulness.  He was still trusting in the One who faithfully guided Him throughout His life:

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; the God of my strength in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge.  My Savior, You save me from violence.  I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.”    2 Samuel 22:2-4

He then says, “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.”  2 Sam.22:30.

The Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore.  He does not change.  What He did for David, He can do for us.  He is the same God.  We can look at our lives, and the lives of others and see the faithfulness of God, and know He can do it again.

So, like David, take a look at all the places that he’s brought you from.  It’s the impossible.  Believe it’s possible.  We can know the Lord is faithful and declare, as David did, “The Lord is the strength of my life!”

You’re gonna make it!

jamie

God will keep the evil from pouring forth

Pr. 15:28:  “The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.”

How do we wisely study how to answer, instead of allowing our mouths to pour forth our immediate thoughts, risking allowing evil to come forth?  Frankly, we must be full of the Word and the Spirit of the Living God.  When we are living according to our flesh, we fight in the flesh and winning the battle over the tongue will most certainly be out of reach.

When we live and walk according to the Holy Spirit; however, we have the calm assurance within to know that pausing to study our answer is the strongest thing we can do.  Studying how to answer takes humility, patience, trust in, and reliance on the Lord.  Did God not say that vengeance is His?  He said His name is our strong tower and when we run to it, we are safe.

Deliverance:  is that from us, or is that from the Lord?  Just like in the victory over Goliath, God is the One who brought it, through David’s faith.  The small boy who faced the giant was as unable to defeat the him as all the other well-prepared soldiers.  No matter how we’ve prepared our horses and chariots (or words) for battle, the victory belongs to the Lord.

My grandfather always told my mom, who then told me, “don’t make big decisions when you are emotional.”  I think that advice was very similar to this verse, as words can do much damage.  Pausing to study our answers does not make us weak; it reminds us that our strength comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.  When faced with a situation where we have a choice to speak immediately or wait, we must ask God to help us trust in Him and the truth of His word.  If we pause and pray, God will guide us.  He is always faithful.  Trusting in Him will always bring the ultimate victory!

Studying in faith,

jamie

 

How to fight the giants

Pr. 2:10-11:  “When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you.” 

How do we get wisdom to enter our heart?  How does knowledge become pleasant our souls?  We read and meditate on the Word of God.  We spend time with our Lord in prayer.  We allow the sweet Holy Spirit to guide us and speak the deep things of God to us throughout our day.  If we simply spend time with God, His word will bore into our minds, hearts, and souls and discretion, wisdom, understanding, and knowledge will naturally come.

What I have found is that the more I have of God, the more I want.  The more I stay in His presence, the more I long for His presence in my life.  The more I allow His will to guide my decisions, the more I want His advice.  This is how knowledge becomes pleasant to our souls.

I remember reading how David longed for God, and for God’s presence.  David danced before the Lord with all of his might.  His trust was only in the Lord and He called out to the Lord when He needed anything.  He praised the Lord with harp, song, and word.  He meditated on the scriptures and made them a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path.  The Lord was the first thing on his mind when he awoke.  The Psalms are full of David’s heart being poured out before the Lord.  This is what happens when we truly get into His presence on a regular basis.  David sought the Lord, and the Lord showed Himself to David and protected Him.

David made mistakes, but God still called him a man after His own heart, because David truly loved and longed for God.  He wasn’t a perfect person, but His Savior was perfect beyond measure and David counted on the Lord to guide and keep Him.  David understood that he had no strength but God.

Ps. 93:4 says, “The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea.”  I’m not sure who wrote this Psalm, but I know that David knew this to be true.  Without the Lord, David was just a boy facing a giant that could not be defeated.  David, however, understood that the battle was the Lord’s and that he was simply the instrument the Lord was using to defeat the giant and bring glory to God.

When this kind of wisdom enters our heart, truly we will live in safety.  We understand that life is not about us, our weaknesses, or our strengths.  Knowledge of the Holy One will give us the pleasant truth that God is truly in control.  God will fight our giants.

We only get this knowledge in His presence.  David spent time with God, even time on his face worshiping the Lord who is mightier than the waves of the sea.  His life is a good example for us of how we should live our lives.  He’s not the only one allowed to live this way.  Let’s take a few notes from David today and allow the Lord to opportunity to preserve and keep us.

“Therefore I will play music before the Lord.  And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight.”  -David, 2 Sam. 6:21-22

jamie