the name of the Lord | considering the word

“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

Pr. 7:13: “So she caught him and kissed him; with a brazen face she said to him…”

Isn’t this just like sin? The fact is, you don’t always have to be looking for sin. You can be minding your own business and it will catch you, kiss you right in the face, and boldly and shamelessly speak to you. I have experienced this in the most godly and reverent settings before. Satan is relentless.

What do you do in the face of brazen sinful thoughts that seize you unexpectedly? You speak the name of Jesus Christ, the name above all names. You don’t try to fight the sin in your own strength. Call upon the name of the Lord. Hebrews 2:18 tells us that Jesus is able to aid those who are tempted.

Also worth remembering is 1 Cor. 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

There is a way of escape from every temptation. So, understanding that we have a High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses, we can go boldly to the throne of grace, and obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. (Heb. 4:15-16)

Don’t give in to sin, but also don’t try to fight it in your own strength. Greater is He who is in you [God] than he who is in the world [satan]. You have a mighty Defender and adversary, who will come to your defense. There is power in the name of the Lord that is able to deliver you from the most brazen of sins. Call upon Him.

Be bold,

jamie