Your Part In The Battle

August 23, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

The story about David defeating the giant Goliath in battle is familiar to just about everyone. (If it’s not a familiar story to you, you can read it here.) I was struck by how David saw his part in this fight. Look what he said:

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.

After the fight was over, and Goliath lay dead at David’s feet, the biblical writer said the same thing:

So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

If you are a God-follower, then your battles are really God’s battles. David recognized that it was God’s battle, but David also knew that he played a part in this too.

1.  He had to train. David had to know how to use a sling with deadly accuracy.

2.  He had to reject “good” advice. Saul advised David, “Here, wear my armor.” That sounded like good advice, but it didn’t fit for David. He had to be true to what the Spirit of God spoke to his heart, even as he rejected what seemed like good advice.

3.  He had to have faith. David truly believed that God was going to do something big—something no one else could even imagine.

4.  He had to show up. Sometimes God fights battles for His people, and sometimes He fights with His people. David didn’t know what God was going to do in this instance until he showed up on the battlefield.

God wants you to win big battles. And if you’re following God, He will bring the victory. But you still have a very important part to play. Train hard, reject advice that is contrary to what God has told you, have faith, and then show up for the battle. These are the keys to victory.

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Let God Choose Your Battles

April 7, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

God wants you to be successful. If you call yourself His follower, why would He want you to ever suffer a defeat? He wants His name to be glorified, so He wants you to be successful.

So let Him choose your battles for you. He knows what you can handle. Let Him pick the time, the place, and the method for your battles.

  • His way might be longer than you would like it to be, but His timing is better.
  • His place may not be your place for battle, but His place is better.
  • His methods might not be what you would choose, but His ways are better.

Check this out:

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. (Exodus 13:17-18)

I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land. (Exodus 23:27-30)

God told me, “And don’t try to pick a fight with the Moabites. I am not giving you any of their land. … When you approach the People of Ammon, don’t try and pick a fight with them because I’m not giving you any of the land of the People of Ammon for yourselves.” (Deuteronomy 2:9, 19)

Are you in a battle now? If God brought you to this point, hang in there because He will give you the victory. Don’t try to pick a fight in territory God hasn’t given you. Wait for His timing, His place, and His method of victory.

If you’re in a battle now, let me know, and I’d be honored to stand with you in prayer.

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Success Is Going

June 4, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

King David is one of the most well-known characters in the Old Testament. Such incredible stories are told about him that his life can be summed up in one phrase that occurs four times in Scripture—The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went (2 Samuel 8:6, 14; 1 Chronicles 18:6, 13).

When David was faced with a challenge or an enemy, he threw himself fully into meeting the enemy head-on, and he was always successful. There is no record of David ever being defeated in battle. If he went out, he won.

Aha, keyword alert—The Lord gave David victory everywhere he WENT.

The only times David was defeated was when he stood still:

• When his son Absalom killed another of David’s sons, Amnon, David didn’t do anything. Even when Absalom returned from exile, David stayed home and didn’t reconcile with his son (2 Samuel 13-15).

• David’s son Adonijah behaved inappropriately and eventually rebelled against David, too. But David “never interfered with him by asking, ‘Why do you behave as you do?’” (1 Kings 1:6).

• David lusted after and then committed adultery with Bathsheba when, “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. … But David remained in Jerusalem” (1 Chronicles 20:1).

• David angered God by ordering that a census be taken of all of the men eligible for military service in Israel. “So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, ‘Go and count…” (1 Chronicles 21:2). In other words, David stayed while others went.

Solomon correctly noted, “The path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the grave” (Proverbs 15:24). There are only two directions: forward (or up) OR backward (or down). There is no standing still.

The Lord gave David victory everywhere he WENT, not everywhere he stood still. To stand still is to begin to go backward.

Is there a battle you need to fight? Is there a challenge you’ve been avoiding? Is there something you need to complete? Are you waiting for something to happen? Are you content just to stand still?

Stop standing still and start going! If you are following God, He will give you victory everywhere you go.

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