2009 – Day 103.Apr. 14 – Inner Qualities

2009 – Day 103.Apr. 14 – Inner Qualities

Passage of the Day: 1st Samuel 16: 11 … And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.”

1st Samuel 17: 34 – 35 … 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it.

My Journal for Today: We now spring forward in our story about David from his anointing by Samuel to his confrontation with King Saul, who is now, in 1st Samuel 17 confronted with the Philistine Giant, Goliath. And Saul asks David how he can go against this enemy. And with no hesitation David gives his résumé of having killed lions and bears in the wilderness as a shepherd. Goliath was no big deal for young David because he had been schooled in the wilderness by God’s providence and power; and though young in years, David had seen God’s deliverance in action many times.

It is often said that one’s character is defined by what we do when no one is looking; and David’s character had been schooled, if you refer to yesterday’s devotional in my journals, in the schoolroom of solitude and obscurity by the schoolmasters of monotony and reality. So, David may not have looked like it; but he was ready to do battle against any enemy; and he was saying confidently to his king, “Bring him on!”

Every day you and I face the Goliaths of this world. There is the tyranny of the urgent, by unimportant and trivial matters trying to take over. There is the terrorism of fleshly temptation. And all of these Goliaths are crying out, “Come against me; and I will take down your best.” And unfortunately most of God’s warriors these days sink from the terrorism in this world these days. Why? Well, it’s because we haven’t been schooled by the hard knocks of life and we haven’t seen God do His business. Therefore, we simply don’t have the confidence that we can, like David, slay the lions and bears of this world.

I work in a ministry where every day I have to go up against a Goliath in this world, the awesome power of Satan’s “XXX” Industry. Sex as a stronghold of sensual power and is a pervasive Goliath in today’s world; and it is bringing men, even Christian men, down into the pits of death in sexual sin, every day. But like David, I know that I can defeat this Goliath. I’ve been out there in the wilderness; and I’ve experienced what is promised in 1st John 4: 4, that my God is greater than Satan, the Goliath. I’ve felt the victory of Christ giving me His power to lift me above my enemies. So, I know the reality of Isaiah 41: 10 and Phil. 4: 13 and Romans 8: 31.

So, when any Saul of this world might say to me, “Bill, you can’t defeat Satan’s sensual forces in this world!” To that I say, “Bring them on; I’m ready … because my God is in my corner; and (from Eph. 6: 13-18) I’m fully armed and ready to do battle against any Goliath with God’s mighty weapon, …His word.”

For any who might read here, I’m not bragging on Bill Berry. I completely respect the power of my Goliath-like spiritual enemies, … Satan and my own deceitful heart. But my confidence to do battle is, as I’ve said, in a God Whom I’ve seen bring down many worldly Goliaths in my own life and in the lives of many others too weak to do battle alone, but relying on God’s strength to cover their weakness (see 2nd Cor. 12: 9).

Beloved, we can go up against Goliath today; but you’ve got to believe the truths of the Scriptures I’ve referenced above and you’ve got to be willing to put on your armor, take up your sword, and go to the high ground of prayer to do battle. You may need some seasoning and training out in the bootcamp wilderness of life. It takes time and practice, as David experienced as a shepherd, to become God’s well armed warrior who is a practiced and skilled swordsman of the Word. But when you’ve prepared yourself for the Goliaths of this world, as David had, you’ll be ready to stand forth and take the battle field to take on Satan’s Goliaths.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, show me the battle; I’m ready to stand with You for Your glory. Amen