"run to the battle " pt.3

"Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not Used to them." So he took them off.Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag, and with his sling in hand, approached the Philistine. Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. "Come here" he said, "and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" 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: 38-47

"prepared for battle"

As I shared in the last post, when we look at our situations and conflicts as opportunities, for our Faith to be tested and strengthened, and most importantly for the Lord to be glorified, we can stand Faithful and Fearless, ready for the next battle.

We know in this life, we will have troubles, but in Jesus, we have peace and encouragement, for He has overcome the world.(Jn 16:33) Being Faithful and Fearless is the most important part of our preparing for the next battle to come, because it shows our utmost trust in the Lord. It is the first step in preparing for the run to battle. David's next steps in preparing for battle, demonstrates this utmost trust.

Saul dresses him in his own armor, representing man's ways and means. It represents warfare in the natural, human way, relying on human strength and knowledge. Our flesh, our natural mind, walking by sight, will always hinder Faith, by not seeing beyond our present physical situations and surroundings, causing doubt. As David walked around in the armor, he realized he couldn't use these, he wasn't used to them. The King James version says "I have not proved them", in essence, he hadn't tested them. He realized he was being clothed in Saul's armor, man's methods, not in the Lord's, as he would later proclaim. So, he took them off.

I wonder, at this point, what must have been going through the minds of Saul and all of Israel, as David took his staff, chose five smooth stones from the stream, puts them in his shepherds bag, then takes his sling and goes to meet Goliath. I wonder if their thoughts were similar to Goliath's, believing what Goliath ranted at David, about what his fate would be. How do we respond, when faced with adversity in life? When people around us look at the gravity of the situation, and convey their doubts to us. How do we respond? David stood Fearless and faithful, and prepared for battle, in it's face.

Goliath might have had the old childhood saying in mind, when facing David, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me". He was about to find out, One Name will! David boldly proclaims the real power in his preparation. He wasn't coming with man's weapons and skills, but the power of the Name of the Lord Almighty! Declaring that the Lord saves, not by man's method's, sword and spear, but as a demonstration of his Power, using foolish things in the eyes of man, to slay the giant! A testimony to those around there, to the world and eternity, that there is a God in Israel!

As David understood and exemplified, proper Faith, and Spirit led preparation, brings about God ordained outcomes, in our situations also. Even in situations that lead to death, our trust in the Lord, our Faith, will be a testimony, as to how we live. Because to us who are believers in Christ, this world is not our home, it's our mission field, as we're traveling thru, Heaven is our true home. Understanding this, we then can have the same mindset, as the Apostle Paul, when he said, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain"(Phlp. 1:20&21). This isn't a defeatist attitude, but one that understands, when we truly trust the Lord with our lives, living or dying, our battles are the Lord's, and so are the outcomes. All for His Glory.

Knowing and trusting in Him, in every circumstance, as David did. Living, moving and having our existence grounded and rooted in Him. His Finished Work providing everything we need, to truly be "prepared for battle."