“The battle is the Lord’s.” (1 Sam. 17:47b NKJV)
Do you ever personalize Scripture? I do. It so encourages me. I happened to be reading 1 Samuel 17. The battle between David and Goliath. I was encouraged and thought I’d encourage you.
We all have our battles, don’t we? Have you noticed lately how so many people have so many battles? Even if we aren’t in a battle at the moment, hearing the battles of others makes our hearts ache, doesn’t it?
In our battles, we fight an enemy. That age-old enemy. I never give him a name. Just enemy. Seems he’s working overtime.
When I asked if you personalize Scripture, I meant do you insert your name (or a personal pronoun) in place of another’s name and insert enemy in place of an opposing nation or person?
For example, “When the [enemy] came forward to meet [name], [I] ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the [enemy]…so [I] prevailed over the [enemy].” (1 Sam. 17:48, 50b AMPC)
In this story, David needed only one rock to slay his enemy, and you and I need only One Rock to slay our ol’ enemy! That enemy comes at us to steal, kill, and otherwise destroy us, using whatever weapon he can. But David stood up to his enemy Goliath and said, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts…Whom you have defied.” (1 Sam. 17:45 AMPC)
“Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you,” he continued, “And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle.” (1 Sam. 17:46a, 47 NLT)
This reminds me of a similar story. I love the account of Jehoshaphat and his army of praisers.
I’m sure you know the story of Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20. When the Moabites and the Ammonites joined together in battle against him, Jehoshaphat feared and sought God, calling for a fast over all Judah, and they all sought God. He stood before them and prayed, confessing to God that they had no power to go against the great multitude.
The Lord came upon Jahaziel and he said, “This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow, march out against them.” (2 Chron. 20:15-16 NLT)
“After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: ‘Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!’” (2 Chron. 20:21 NLT)
According to the definitions, because of Judah’s loud shrill of triumph, rejoicing, shouting, and singing, their enemies became confused and annihilated each other. Singing and praising resulted in Judah’s deliverance.
I find it interesting that Jehoshaphat means Jehovah has judged and Judah means praise. God had judged Judah’s enemies defeated in advance. Because of praise. God is enthroned, inhabits, dwells in, the praises of His people (Ps. 22:3). When we enthrone Him with our praise, He goes out to battle our enemy. And the enemy HATES praise!
We go out praising! God goes out fighting!
And the enemy goes out!
When the enemy comes at you, march toward him with your hands raised in praise! The Lord will deliver you and give you victory!
Remember, you carry that One Rock!
And the battle is the Lord’s!
Lynn writes devotionals and inspirational stories. She has one book waiting to be published in 2015 and is working on a second one. Her greatest passion is to fulfill God’s call on her life to encourage others and glorify the Lord with her writing. She currently writes for several sites and writes bi-weekly on her site, Heading Home. http://lynnmosher.com
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