But how is the fight of faith to be fought? The account of Davidas battle with Goliath holds many clues. There is no doubt about the immensity of the task that confronted Davida"otherwise, Saul would have settled the issue long before the precocious David arrived on the field of battle. But Saul and his men were thoroughly impressed with the power of the giant, and so they were terrified. David, for his part, was fearless. He wasnat concerned about the giantas strength, because he saw G.o.das power as greater. He also saw Goliathas bravado as direct defiance of G.o.das armies, and thus of G.o.d himself. David could not accept this as the status quo, so he decided to act. Undeterred by the naysayersa efforts to dissuade him from taking on Goliath, David reminded them of his own experiencea"that the Lord is able to savea"and he was calmly convinced that the Lord would act in this situation, too. Then, rejecting the trappings that Saul tried to lay on him, David carefully selected five smooth stones for his sling. Armed with this minimal a.r.s.enal, he approached the giant ain the name of the Lord Almightya (17:45). It is important to note that he did not just stand there waiting for the Lord Almighty to smite the giant. He took what he had in hand, utilized the skills he had acquired on the lonely hillsides of Bethlehem, and slung his shot. The result was stunning! He then borrowed the stunned giantas sword and finished him off.

The enemies of our soul are real and not to be underestimated, they are to be engaged and not avoided, and they are to be countered using the five smooth stones of Scripture, prayer, fellowship, worship, and discipline. Like David, we must develop our skills in handling our own smooth stones in the power of the Lord. The results will be stunning.

October 20

TO READ: 1 Samuel 20:1-15

Helping Those in Trouble

And may you treat me with the faithful love of the LORD as long as I live. But if I die, treat my family with this faithful love, even when the LORD destroys all your enemies.

1 Samuel 20:14-15

Helping people in trouble can be challenging, uncomfortable, time-consuming, dangerous, and expensive. But it is also right and good, rewarding and G.o.d-honoring.

David had more than his share of trouble, not the least of which was his relationship with Saul. King Saul was a veritable museum of emotional diseases. Given to fits of melancholia that plunged him into murderous rages, he lived an acutely paranoid existence. Unfortunately for David, the kingas hatred and jealousy were mainly directed at him. This made for a decidedly uncomfortable experience for David, who found himself persona non grata at court and deemed it necessary to head for the wilderness in search of a little safety.

Fortunately for David, young prince Jonathan gladly helped his troubled friend. Jonathan was aware of the immense popularity of David, and no doubt he recognized a potential rival for the throne in the young charismatic hero. In fact, from a purely political point of view, having David dead would have been much more attractive for Jonathan than having David alive! When Jonathan protested that Davidas reading of the situation was terribly wrong, perhaps David wondered momentarily if Jonathan secretly wanted him out of the way.

But the two young men, whose status and situations were so different, had important things in common. They both valued their strong friendship. They both took seriously their commitment to the Lord, whom they knew to be the G.o.d of afaithful lovea (20:14), and they recognized that the followers of the Lord needed to treat others with this afaithful lovea also (20:15). This was not just a matter of personal friendship, which was certainly very strong; it was all about treating people rightly and recognizing that the Lord himself was watching and caring.

We serve a Lord who distinguished himself by the way he helped a helpless race in deep trouble. Like Jonathan, he saw our lost condition, was moved with compa.s.sion, and made a commitment to us. Christ did not hesitate to pay the extreme sacrifice. Reaching us in our troubled state, he drew us back to himself and granted us a place in his royal family. So next time you donat feel like helping, remember the One who helped you!

October 21

TO READ: 2 Samuel 5:17-25

Consulting the Lord

So David asked the LORD, aShould I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?a The LORD replied, aYes, go ahead. I will certainly give you the victory.a 2 Samuel 5:19

A consultant is usually someone who has proved, through long experience, that he knows what to do, and who is willing, for a fee, to share his insights with those who seek his help. More experienced and insightful than any human consultant is the Lord. The Lordas credentials are impeccable, he is anxious to be consulted, and he offers his insights free of charge. Sadly, he is not always consulted, nor is his advice always sought out.

David was too smart to make such a serious mistake. The Philistines, on hearing of Davidas accession to the throne of Israel, decided that they needed to get control of him in a hurry, so they sent their hordes to capture him. This presented the new king with an immediate crisis. David was no stranger to military action, and he had proven many times that he was not lacking in strategic know-how or sheer courage. And he had with him many experienced veterans of foreign wars. So he had no shortage of military intelligence available. But David was smart enough to know he needed more than thata"he needed divine guidance. With wisdom befitting a king, he asked the Lord what he should do.

Many men have stumbled at this point. Some are too self-confident and do not wish to consult the Lord, while others do not know how to consult him. They trust their own instincts and expertise rather than the Lord and then make decisions that lead to problems. They do not realize that the Lord knows what is best for them and is eager to work in their lives.

So the key is to consult the Lord. But how? Davidas methods are not stipulated. Either he received a message from the Urim and Thummim (a means of communication of which we know very little), or a gifted seer or prophet told him a word from the Lord. We may not know Davidas methods, but we can certainly follow his example, because we are talking about the same G.o.d! We can bring our choices to the Lord in prayer, study the Word of G.o.d for guiding principles, listen to the counsel of wise people in our lives, and, using our G.o.d-given reasoning capabilities, arrive at the direction we will take, all the time asking the Lord to stop us if we are making a wrong decision. There is nothing more comforting than knowing that we can bring our decisions to the Lord in this way and then go ahead, knowing that he is in charge and is leading us through his Holy Spirit.

October 22

TO READ: Psalm 78:11-57

G.o.das Broken Heart

Oh, how often they rebelled against him in the desert and grieved his heart in the wilderness. Again and again they tested G.o.das patience and frustrated the Holy One of Israel.

Psalm 78:40-41

Have you ever wondered how G.o.d feels about human behavior? We know that we get upset when people hurt us, and if we cause pain we feel bad about it. But what about the impact of our behavior on G.o.d?

In the time of Noah, we are told, aThe Lord observed the extent of the peopleas wickedness, and he saw that all their thoughts were consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them. It broke his hearta (Gen. 6:5-6). Human sin apparently broke the divine heart.

After the Flood things did not improve appreciably. In the long and tortuous history of the children of Israel, G.o.d suffered constant heartache. The cycle of sin, repentance, recommitment, restoration, apathy, decline, oppression, repentance, and recommitment continued in relentless fashion. This revealed the obduracy of man and the patience of G.o.d, as manas behavior subjected the Lord to ongoing heartbreak.

Psalm 78 catalogues for all time the many sins of ancient Israel and the many gracious acts of G.o.d. No matter how much good G.o.d sent to his people, or how much chastis.e.m.e.nt, aThey did not keep G.o.das covenant, and they refused to live by his lawa (78:10; see 78:11-16, 31-33). Sometimes they did repent and return to G.o.d, but their zeal was short-lived and often insincere (78:36-37). The writer of this psalm summarized the situation by saying, aOh, how often they rebelled against him in the desert and grieved his heart in the wilderness. Again and again they tested G.o.das patience and frustrated the Holy One of Israela (78:40-41).

We do well to consider the impact of human behavior on the heart of G.o.d. Human sin is an affront to G.o.d. It is a denial of his sovereignty. It is a statement by one created from dust that he is taking control from the Creator. That breaks G.o.das heart. When sinful actions predominate in our lives, they demonstrate the extent of human fallenness. When a manas heart is corrupt, his humanity is polluted. Understandably, G.o.d is indignant about manas condition and actions, so he disciplines his erring children. But even his discipline stems from his brokenhearted love.

A vision of G.o.das heart may soften and break the most hardened human heart. And that can lead to our hearts being molded into that for which he created and redeemed us. Our lives can be expressions of his love and goodness, rather than examples of human wickednessa"for all time!

October 23

TO READ: 2 Samuel 11:1-27

A Seductive Glow

The following spring, the time of year when kings go to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to destroy the Ammonites. In the process they laid siege to the city of Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem. Late one afternoon David got out of bed after taking a nap and went for a stroll on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath.

2 Samuel 11:1-2

A temptation is an opportunity to go wrong. It is also a chance to do right. A temptation is a potential seduction, but handled correctly it results in an actual strengthening. This can be seen clearly when we compare similar incidents in the lives of Joseph and David. Both of these men were presented with adulterous opportunities. Both knew that adultery was wrong. Joseph accordingly resisted the temptressas advances and, at great cost to himself, preserved his integrity. David, on the other hand, not only succ.u.mbed but caught himself in a spiral of selfish decisions that sucked him into ever-deepening culpability.

Davidas fall was not sudden. Apparently, he had been undisciplined for some time. He was not leading his men into battle but was staying home and letting them fight his battles for him. And it does seem odd that he was getting out of bed in the evening. Whatever had happened to the dashing young warrior, the devoted servant of the Lord, the man after G.o.das own heart? Had he grown careless? Had he become fat and f.e.c.kless in his advancing middle age?

Perhaps he did not know that Bathsheba would be bathing in full viewa"and her motivations may well have been impurea"so he could not be held responsible for seeing her. But he certainly was responsible for gazing, l.u.s.ting, sending for her, and engaging in adulterous s.e.x with her. At any point he coulda"and shoulda"have said no. But the erosion of principle and discipline had already taken place, and the moral failure concluded in disaster.

We can all learn from mistakes, but learning from the mistakes of others is less painful than living with the consequences of our own. Davidas fall tells us that failure to reverse spiritual erosion leads to undermining moral principle. Then, when we are subjected to the stress of temptation, failure and collapse quickly result.

Strong men know how to stand firm, but even the strongest man becomes a weakling if he ignores basic prudent precautions and begins to play with temptation on the a.s.sumption that he can break off at any time.

Moths love candlelight. They are attracted to its seductive glow and flirt with its warm embrace. Closer and closer they are lured until their wings are singed and they crash and burn. Learn the lesson from David or, if you prefer, behold the disaster of the moth. Be prepared to stand against temptation or you, too, may crash and burn.

October 24

TO READ: 1 Kings 2:1-12

Last Words

I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man.

1 Kings 2:2

How a man dies says a lot about how he lived. His last words speak volumes. John Wesleyas final words were, aBest of all, G.o.d is with us.a Ludwig van Beethoven, as he died, said, aThe comedy is over.a Quite a difference! Wesley died, not only conscious of where he was going, but also vividly aware that the One with whom he had lived so long would pa.s.s through the waters of death with him. Beethoven died with no such a.s.sured statement, only with words that hint that his life had been a cynical disappointment.

King David, lying on his death bed, said a lot in a few words to his son Solomon. aTake courage and be a mana he said, summarizing his own life and identifying his desires for his son (2:2). But what would it take to abe a mana in Davidas estimation?

First and foremost, being a man requires being courageous enough to recognize that success is dependent upon obedience to G.o.das will and purpose. David commanded his heir to obey G.o.d and promised that if he did so, he would be successful (2:3). It takes a brave man to take a stand on G.o.das ways, particularly when he is subjected to conflicting opinions and pulled by contrary forces. aDoing it my waya is a much more common and popular slogan than aDoing it HIS way,a but the latter is the pathway to lasting success.

Second, being a man includes trusting in G.o.das promises. David pointed his son to the promises of G.o.d as the source of a.s.surance and strength (2:4). The man who knows how to atrust and obeya can be confident that G.o.d will be proactive in his affairs and deeply involved in his life.

Third, being a man includes administering justice (2:5-9). It may appear that David was urging Solomon to take vengeance on his enemies in order to resolve personal grudges, but it was actually a matter of administering G.o.das justice rather than getting even. This same concern for justice led David to press on Solomon the responsibility to show kindness to those who deserved it (2:7).

Last words carry extraordinary weight because they are memorable; and because they often summarize a life lived, they pack an extra punch. So let us ensure before we die, and before our children do too much living, that they see and hear what they should hold as highest priorities.