Do you have circumstances in your life that are striking deep fear in your gut? Maybe you have a terminal medical condition. Perhaps you have lost your job or your financial security. My job is primarily adversarial in nature—people fighting over money, land, inheritance, etc., and it can produce fear that is downright debilitating. It is often very, very difficult to maintain a sense of peace. This morning, as I began my quiet time, one such situation began to creep into my mind and threaten to destroy my critical time with God. I asked God, “Please show me how to handle this!” He gave me this profound thought:
“These difficult battles are like the lion and the bear.”
I was amazed at this thought! I stopped and began to thank God for His immense wisdom. These intense and frightening circumstances are preparation for my future battles against the Goliaths that I will encounter. In other words, battles that will have eternal consequences—not just temporal things like money and land. But God is using these skirmishes to prepare me for greater victories! I had to go back and read the story. After David saw Goliath defying the entire army of Israel, he BEGGED King Saul to be allowed to fight and then—he RAN TOWARDS the enemy:
David said to Saul,
“Let no man’s heart fail [fear] because of him [Goliath]; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David,
“You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he [is] a man of war from his youth.”
But David said to Saul,
“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. 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.”
And Saul said to David,
“Go, and the Lord be with you!”
So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David HURRIED and ran TOWARD the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.
I Samuel 17:32-37, 48-50
I want to be prepared to RUN TOWARDS the enemy! Don’t you??? We will NEVER be able to do this unless we have the confidence that GOD will fight our battles. This confidence comes from years of preparation, prayer, practice, and living in the Holy presence of God. As long as God is the center of our life and our greatest love, we will NOT be afraid because we will be fighting HIS battles—not ours. As long as we love HIM and love OTHERS more than we love money, possessions, or anyone or anything else…our life purpose will be living for HIS glory instead of our own desires, comforts or glory. What a life!!!
When we belong to God; our battles are HIS battles and HE—always wins.
“In ALL these things we are MORE than conquerors through HIM who loved us.“
Romans 8:37
We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.
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