Our lives follow a steady rhythm of good times and bad times – when was the last time you recall an unbroken, continuing, unending stretch of peace and unmitigated happiness? Reality quickly shows us that such utopian bliss will never be our lot on this side of the vale. God comes to “afflict” us in our comforts, and comfort us in our afflictions. He does this to show us how much we depend on Him.
Head and Shoulders
When the great Philistine warrior issues his challenge, Saul is greatly dismayed and cowers in fear, and he had but one thought – “woe is me”. The youthful David, on the other hand, is undeterred by Goliath’s great girth and quickly proffers his services. Saul and Goliath quickly size up the human strengths and weaknesses of their adversary – the former filled with despair, the latter contempt. David however relies less on his own strengths but places his trust in the Lord. From his life experience, he knew that it was the Lord who delivered him from the claws of the lion and the bear, and he was supremely confident that God would deliver the Philistine into his hand. And this is exactly how things go down. In one corner, contempt, and curses. On the other, faith and hope. And in one smooth move, the Philistine is felled and dispatched, and a great victory snatched from the jaws of defeat.
The Battle is the Lord’s
After Goliath unleashes his tirade of scornful words, David rejoins that in insulting the Israelites, the Philistines are insulting their God, who would not fail to deliver them, saying thus:
“For the battle is the LORD’s and he shall deliver you into our hands.”
We would do well to remember this. For we inhabit a world “in sin and error pining,” the forces of evil unrelenting and on every side, our morals come under grievous attack. We have to strive mightily not to let hope in God die in our hearts, the original temptation and constant companion to the myriad travesties of justice that are commonplace in this vale of tears. David doesn’t quail in the face of Goliath’s barrage of curses and accusations. Instead, he remains firm in recognizing his own identity as a beloved child of God and remains tranquil and confident. Confident not in himself but in the supernatural powers that permit him to face the foe before him relying on the awesome strength of the Powers behind him. And God demonstrates that he chooses to use the meek and the lowly to astound the proud and the haughty.
Make Smooth His Paths
Jesus faces another kind of opponent in his encounter with the man with the withered hand. He faces a band of religious leaders bent on denouncing anyone who dared go against their rules. Jesus is angered and grieved when faced with their hardened hearts. And it reminds one of the stones that David relied on when facing his oversized opponent. We too need to beware the hardened edges in our own heart and allow them to be made smooth in the living waters of His word. For the temptation to judge like the Pharisees is within easy reach and the only antidote to the scornful words and quickness to judge is to let our hearts soak in His goodness until my will disappears because I desire only to do His will.
In the end, what matters is not our stature but our posture. Are we raising ourselves up to cut people down or kneeling to let His kingdom reign in our hearts and the world? All God asks us to do is stretch out our hand, He will do the rest.
Great job as usual Patrick and Julie.
Keep ’em coming.