And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. – verses 44-46
My reading this morning came from 1 Samuel 17, where once again I see a character defeating an enemy without a sword. I met a character who in the face of everyone’s predictions of certain defeat, advanced forward and got triumph instead.
This character is David. David was entrusted with his father’s sheep. When a lion and bear came up against the sheep, taking a LAMB, this character did not cower in fear. He did not let the possible negative consequences of his actions prevent him from responding in defense of the LAMB. Instead, he charged against them both defeating them in the name of the Lord.
So many times we let the possibility of what might happen stop us from responding to the attacks of the enemy against those under our care. We are afraid, “unwilling and reluctant to do something for fear of the consequences.” We behave as if we have no choice.
But in this passage I saw where we do have a choice. We can either cower in fear and do nothing, allowing the enemy to prevail against us and what is ours, bringing us in a state of servitude to him (verse 9), or we can make haste and run toward the enemy with the fight (verse 48).
We can stand back and look on while he devours our spouse and children or we can go after him and smite him to the ground. If we rise and go forth by faith depending on the strength of God, then the Lord God will give our adversaries into our hands!
Do not believe the predictions of the adversary. Do not give in to the emotions that they generated, causing you to act as if defeat is certain and about to happen. Do not be overcome by Fear! “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) Use the soundness of your mind and let Fear know that you are aware of the possible consequences. You are aware of the predictions of the adversary. But you stand confident in the assurance of the power and might of God to deliver you out of any and all of Fear’s predictions.
DIG DEEPER:
1. The Blog Post: But I am Afraid!
2. The Bible Study Teaching – Mighty Man of Valor!
3. Prayer Room – Warfare: Against Fear & Warfare: Obedience conquers Fear