Oct
28
Go Through It
Filed Under Devotional
I was helping my son work through a Physics assignment last night and I could tell he was getting discouraged. He felt like no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t get it to click in his head. He started to wonder if he’d even pass the class. I recognized the first steps on a downward spiral because I’ve been on that road before.
I think we’ve all had times when we feel like we’re facing the insurmountable. It seems impossible and inescapable. I think this is how Israel felt when faced with Goliath:
“Then the Philistine said, ‘This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.’ On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.” 1 Samuel 17:10-11
Our human nature tells us they were right to be terrified. They were being challenged by a giant of a man with battle training. He had a longer reach, a bigger spear, and massive strength. Fighting this guy was a death wish…if you did it alone. Their solution was to hide. Notice that this did not make the problem go away.
“David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” ” 1 Samuel 17:45-47
David knew he wasn’t alone. He realized that any battle is not about who you’re fighting, but Who is fighting with you. It’s not that he wasn’t afraid of Goliath, it’s just that He knew God well enough to know that it didn’t matter who the enemy was. Any enemy, when you are allied with God, is already defeated.
When you are in the impossible situation or the inescapable trap, realize that you are only lost if you’re alone. Align yourself with God. He probably won’t solve it for you. He probably won’t let you run away from it. He will, however, be with you as you face the giant and go through it.