Why Are There Defeated Christians? 1 Samuel 17:4

We know we should be doing great things for God, but often, we seem to get nowhere.

"All those gathered here will know it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord's..." 1 Samuel 17:47, NIV.

The conflict between David and Goliath was not private but designed to be a public spectacle. The enemy of the Lord loves to openly humiliate and defeat the Lord's own. Our struggles do not happen in secret. We may keep them from friends, but there are angelic and demonic witnesses to our faithfulness and our betrayal of faith.

OUR BATTLES

Why Are There Defeated Christians?

We think that we will win the battles of our times with bigger weaponry, more dollars, or greater campaigns. However, technology, organizations, movements, and political parties do not win the Lord's battles.

In 1 Samuel 17:4, David was facing a giant problem, yet his focus was not on his abilities or weaponry. He did not say, "It is not by spear or sword that I will save," but "it is not by spear or sword that the LORD saves." He saw the struggle was not a conflict between two armies, ideals or political entities or even between his king and the Philistine leaders, but it was between the Holy God and that which opposed him.

THE LORD'S WORK
Some translations use the word "saves," "delivers," or "rescues." Defeat in ancient times meant the vanquished were often annihilated, and families enslaved. The fight was for national and personal salvation; the armies of Israel were facing such an overwhelming foe that the thought was not of victory but of survival. Here God is not a helper but the one who alone rescues, the Lord saves means total dependence on the Lord. David looked to him to be the Savior.

WHOSE?
The battle is the Lord's. We feel that we are struggling and fighting against the evil overrunning society. When we make the battle ours, we lose it. It is the Lord's battle—not ours. Victory does not depend on us; it depends on him.

DAVID'S EFFECT.
There are many points to ponder in the lesson of David and Goliath.

     * When the youth David faced the giant, he stood his ground.
     * He acknowledged and glorified the Lord.
     * He obeyed the Lord.
     * He was prepared by accepting earlier challenges, such as the lion and bear.
     * He used what he knew- the sling and stone.
     * He refused man-made contrivances such as the king's armor and trusted on that which was provided by God- a rock.

These are all wonderful points, but the greatest is that the battle is the Lord's, and that lesson is a lesson of faith we often need to realize over and deeper as we go through our lives

Let us make a similar declaration of faith, and go out in faith and face our Goliaths.

(c) Adron 8/30/12