The Offensive

I am tired of the defensive. I am tired of reacting to my situations and just escaping by God's grace. It is awesome when God inserts Himself into my situation and gives me peace in the midst of the storms of life. However, we have been called to so much more than that! Who wants to finish their life and say, "Yup, I made it through. Every time there was trouble, God gave me peace and carried me through it." Wouldn't you rather say, "Yup, I lived my life for God. I attacked the gates of hell in the name of the Lord. The battle was the Lord's and He gave the enemy into my hand. I was obedient to Christ and He used me. God used me as He advanced His kingdom." We were not called to live a life of rolling with the punches. We are called to a life of not pulling any punches. Matthew 28:16-20

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.  17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.  18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

 In 1 Samuel 17, David comes to the battle line of Israel with the humbling duty of bringing rations to his brothers. When he gets there he sees Israel's whole army cowering in fear from Goliath. You could truthfully call him big or burly. He is calling out the army of Israel to send one man to fight him. It is apparent that anyone who goes out against Goliath alone is suicidal. Now that is true for any of the burly soldiers from Israel's army... and then there's David. Now David was just a teenager at this point. He probably has some muscle from his previous experiences of defeating lions and bears, but he was most likely puny compared to the the military men.

And then David sees Goliath. I am picturing this teenager running through the Israelite camp yelling, "I'll do it! Let me at him!"

26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

In response to the rejection of his request, David again truthfully calls Goliath what he is. An uncircumcised Philistine who has defied the armies of the Living God. After approving David's request, Saul tries to send David out with his personal armor, but David was wise enough to say no.

Let's take stock of the situation:
     We have Goliath: Big, burly giant with a huge spear and very large shield. And as David pointed out, an uncircumcised Philistine who is defying the armies of the living God.
     And then we have David: Puny teenager armed with a sling and a stone. Not a great outlook for David.
Oh, and then there is the fact that he has the living God on his side. This changes things just a tad bit.

David goes out to face Goliath and after a few pleasantries from Goliath, David pulls his ace card.

46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,  47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

 As The Israelite army was cowering in fear from a giant with a big spear and shield, David was defeating a puny man who was defying the armies of the living God.

The same is true today. The battle is the Lord's, and he will give the enemy into our hand. We just have to go out and fight the battles that God has put before us to fight. It seems like many of us, myself included, are the Israelite army. We are cowering in fear from the enemy with only enough faith to pray that God saves us from them. At our worst, we are like David's brothers, who discourage those who have enough faith to go out and take the victory that is being handed to us by God.


What battles are God calling you to face? Go attack the gates of hell and don't worry for a second about the fact that you are armed with a sling and some stones. You have the living God giving the battle into your hand.