Running Quickly Toward the Enemy?

The words jumped off the page at me, "David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine." 1 Samuel 17:48 Wait... what... he ran QUICKLY... to meet the ENEMY?! I stopped. Reread the passage. Yup... that is what it said!

You have to read the passage around it, 1 Samuel 17:45-50. The enemy has been taunting the Israelites and then begins to make fun of David's youth and size when David dares to fight him. It didn't matter to David. It didn't matter that Goliath was a giant, a full-grown man. Why? 

• David was sure in His God. He was coming in God's strength and on God's behalf. 
• David knew that Goliath was not defying the Israelites, but God.
• David was confident in what God was going to do. He described it graphically.
• David knew that the victory was coming from God.
• David knew whose battle it was and who was going to win it.

And so, he ran toward the enemy. He ran to meet the enemy. He used the weapons God had provided for him. He prevailed over the enemy when others had cowered. He prevailed through God alone.

Woah. 

Selah. 

Amen.

Those with chronic illnesses, those who have to be isolated, know the battles we fight on a daily basis seem immense. Many times, the battles are those of our thoughts and feelings. Let's face it, whether you are the person with chronic illness or close to someone with a chronic illness, the battle can be fierce. Maybe your battle is not that of the mind or the grinding away of the tedium of the chronic illness. You want just one day, one hour, without the fight. Whatever your battle is, God knows.

I don't know about you, but when the battles come, I want to run away from them. Running to them seems a bit... well... crazy, honestly. But, I think that is because I tend to try to battle them on my own. Yet, the battle is the Lord's. He has already won. He gives us this power and His armor. The battle is not ours, but the Lord's. Therefore, it is not crazy to run to the battle as David did.

Wow... my heart was challenged. 

• I can be sure in My God. I can move forward in God's strength and on His behalf.
• I can know that the enemy is defying God, not me.
• I can be confident in what God is doing.
• I can know that the victory is coming from God.
• I can know whose battle it is and who is going to win.

And so, I can run toward the enemy. I can run to meet the enemy. I can use the weapons God has provided for me. I can prevail over the enemy through God alone.