David

Lord God of Heaven’s Armies

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David , Ready for Battle

I have a son named David. When he was little we would read to him the Bible stories of David. He loved to hear how David wrestled a bear and killed a lion. My son would go through the house doing air motions of fighting the imaginary enemy at our door. In his mind, he was not only David our son but for that moment he was David who slew Goliath. Moms of boys can totally relate when a son puts on the superhero outfit or picks up a slingshot he is instantly transported to that battle and all enemies are defeated easily with one fail swoop. 

Victory!

As adults victory against the giants in our life may not come so easily. The battle is real. Satan does not want to wound us, he wants to kill and destroy us. Our heart aches from hurts and wounds inflicted during battle. This is even more true as we move from 2020 to 2021. The events of the past year and the effects of social isolation, unrest, anxiety, and fear have begun to take their toll. Many churches and individuals begin the new year with prayer and fasting. Typically this involves seeking God’s direction regarding whether to change jobs, buy a house, change a behavior, etc. It typically is a time of renewal and expectation. For 2021, your prayers for this year may have switched to addressing the deeper issues of faith, grief, loss, anxiety. We are not asking whether to buy a new house or car, but are asking “Where is God?” For many of us, as we face the upcoming year and what lies before us, we feel less like victorious David going into battle and more like wounded soldiers looking for a retreat. We need to be reminded where our hope and help and strength comes from. 

It is time to remember who Jesus is and who is fighting our battles. 

When David faced Goliath, Goliath taunted the Israelite army. He called them the armies of Saul. The Israelites became fearful. Why? Because they identified themselves as the armies of Saul. When David faced Goliath he did not see himself as a member of Saul’s army but rather as someone coming into battle with God’s full complement of the regiment. He was ready. 

1 Samuel 17:25 You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies-the God of the armies of Isreal whom you have defiled.

David’s identity was with God. He knew that victory would come not because he was good at using a slingshot, but because God is bigger than anything we face.  Victory would not come because he had battle training or any kind of talent or expertise. Victory would not come because he was a special person from the right family or social position. Victory would not come because of who is in political office. Victory would come because David had God’s army with him. Victory would come because of who God is.

David knew this because he had a relationship with God. He knew who God was and what He had done. He had spent days praying and singing praises to God as he watched the sheep. Today, along with prayer, we have the Bible to learn who God is. I am reminded even more how it is important to pray and read the Bible daily. Romans 8 reminds us that tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, peril, sword, life, death, principalities, things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing are able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. It doesn’t say that these things will not come and try to separate us because they will. It says that they are NOT ABLE to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The battle is real, so be purposeful. Find a ‘Battle Plan’ for what you are facing. Discover who Jesus is. Discover who is on your side. Remind yourself that no matter how bad the battle is, nothing can separate us from Jesus. 

2 Samuel 5:10 And he became more powerful because the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies was with him.

In 2 Samuel 6, David several times refers to God as the Lord Almighty. The word “Almighty” comes from a Hebrew word that means “hosts, organized army for war or battle. ” This army is organized and ready for the war campaign to begin. Their commander is God himself.

So, as we enter the New Year and are praying and fasting, remember who goes before you. 

Battle Plan Ideas

Here are some suggestions for Battle Plans:

  1. Make a list of scriptures that pertain to what you are praying about. Sites such as You Version and Blue Letter Bible are a good resource for this. You can type in the topic and they will give you a list of scriptures with that word in it. Here are the links:
  2. Daily Bible reading plans and devotionals can be found on websites and Apps. I like the You Version and the Bible Project.
  3. Many churches are praying and fasting for the New Year and have scriptures listed on their sites as well. World Outreach Church has one called the “Battle Plan”, for example. There are many others as well.
  4. There are also books, such as Prayers that Avail Much or the Power of a Praying Mom by Stormie Omartian. You may have a favorite already.
  5. If you like to journal, I suggest creating a prayer journal. You can use a journal notebook or there are Prayer Journals with specific sections already there for you to comment on. Pick one that inspires you. A missionary nurse friend of mine gave me these: Daily Gratitude Journal with Bible Verses and the Prayer Map for Women.
  6. There are Bibles with sections for journaling and prayer. Personal comments in the margins are good reminders of how Jesus has been there for you. My other son, Nathan, gave me this one for my birthday. My creative side is loving it! the NIV Journal the Word Bible. There are lots others to choose from.
  7. The names of Jesus. I am always encouraged when I review the names of Jesus. It reminds me of His character and who is on my side. Tony Evans wrote a book, Praying Through the Names of God. Ann Spangler wrote a book entitled Praying the Names of God: a Daily Guide. There are others. Remember we need to know who our God is that goes before us.
  8. On this blog, I have past posts regarding prayer, praise, and the full armor of God. I pray these will encourage and inspire you as well.

What is your Battle Plan? Share with your fellow warriors.

Is your jello sticking to the wall yet? Psalm 32:8 Part 1: Instruct

BlairCreekmore
Are you adding your own nails to make i
stick? How is that working for you?

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. ” — Psalm 32:8 (NASB)

Do you feel like you are trying everything and nothing is working right? Are you like me and you want to know where to go next, what to do? Am I on the right path? These days we have Google Maps to talk to us and to say turn right or left in 1.1 miles. But what about our life? Are you throwing jello against the wall to see what sticks? Are you adding your own nails to make it stick? How is that working for you? Are you are going in all directions, picking up everything you can, to see what works. Is the stress relieved, has peace and joy returned? Don’t you wish you had someone to tell you in 1.1 miles decide to do this or not to do it? Psalm 32 tells us that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit will do just that.

Psalm 32 reminds that God will instruct, teach, and counsel us.

Instruct means to provide understanding, insight, show what to pay attention to, show what you need to focus your mind on. The instructor is passing on his wisdom, knowledge, expertise, skill in order for the person to be successful in what they are doing. The concept of the expert instructing the apprentice is illustrated here. The expert imparts not only knowledge, but skill and wisdom. It denotes the concept of the instructor being circumspect or seeing everything in all directions and being able to tell you what you need to highlight and/or give attention to. The one instructed will become wise, prudent, skillful, have incite regarding the situations, and be able to discern what to do and when to do it, This wisdom and knowledge is not from the person but is a result of the instruction.

Do you feel like you are flying blind? Have you gotten somewhere and don’t know how to land?

Have you ever put something together and ended up with ‘spare’ parts(scary!)? Or tried to skip some of the instruction steps in a Lego build only to have take it a part and backtrack to where you went off on your own? Do you feel like you are flying blind? Have gotten somewhere and don’t know how to land? Now I know sometimes we try to ‘shortcut’ the directions. But what usually happens is we have parts left over or we reach a point where we need to redo to make the parts fit properly. Either way, we have wasted time and energy. The finished product may not work the best or worse yet, not work at all. I usually end up with frustration, stress, disappointment, anger (lot of negative thoughts!). When someone instructs us it is like reading the directions. If only I had followed the directions. If only I had humbled myself to receive instruction.

“But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.” — Proverbs 21:11 (NASB)

The word ‘wise’ is the same word for ‘instruct’ used in Psalm 32. It is a verb, “sakal”, which means there is ‘action’ required. There is also a link to the person doing the instruction and the one receiving instruction. There has to be a relationship. God knows just how to instruct us, but we need to be willing to be instructed. God is the only one with complete circumspection of our life. Without His instruction we are throwing the jello against the wall. Without God’s instructions we tend to focus in all directions, with no purpose. We lack understanding and knowledge of what is going on in our life and why things are happening to us. All our efforts are in vain. We may feel like our thoughts are overwhelming us to the point we cannot “think clearly’. Without clear instruction, energy is spent to keep the ‘plates spinning’ in our life with no victory in sight. We tend have the same dramas repeated over and over in our life.

“When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.”– Psalm 32:3 (NASB)

The result was forgiveness, preservation and
deliverance. God’s living waters of forgiveness
could flow in his life.

David wrote Psalm 32. It is described as a ‘contemplative happy’ song. However, in the beginning David is not happy. David describes how sin was ‘heavy upon me’. The weight of the sin was draining his ‘vitality’. He describes his body as ‘wasting away’ . It wasn’t just because of sin, but because he ‘kept silent’ (Psalm 32:3) If you keep sin silent and hidden, it will devour you physically, mentally, and emotionally. David describes how blessed and fortunate he was when he did not keep his sin hidden, but acknowledged it to God. (Psalm 32: 5). The result was forgiveness, preservation, and deliverance. God’s living waters of forgiveness could flow in his life. This forgiveness opened the doorway of David’s heart and soul to be instructed by God and the Holy Spirit.

Sin made it so that David could not hear, understand, and obey God’s clear instructions. The relationship was blocked. The same is true of us today. When we have sin that we have not confessed we cannot hear God’s voice clearly. We are numb to the gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us to Jesus Christ. We cannot hear instructions clearly. We read the Bible and lack understanding.

God sees what we are facing in all directions in our life and He knows what is ahead of us. God created us and knows our talents, strengths and weaknesses. He knows how to instruct us. The Holy Spirit is leading and guiding us to Jesus and His forgiveness. When we confess our sins and ask for the forgiveness that Jesus Christ provided for us through His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, the relationship is fully restored. The sin that was blocking the flow of God’s instructions in our hearts and minds is removed. The relationship between the instructor and the apprentice is restored. Jesus becomes not just our savior, but the Lord of our life. The word of God, the Bible, becomes our blue print, our instructions, that we can understand and receive in our hearts and mind.

Where are you looking for instructions regarding your life? Who is instructing you? Do you have ‘hidden’ sin that is blocking your relationship with Jesus?

Prayer:

Dear Jesus

I acknowledge my sin (___________________) to you. I acknowledge my immoral thoughts and actions. I confess my transgressions. I confess that my heart has rebelled against you and your Word. I ask for forgiveness of my sins. I ask for you to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). I accept the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross to cleanse me from sin. I desire Lord Jesus to have my relationship with you restored. Holy Spirit please guide me in the instructions of God’s word. Bring to my remembrance all that God’ has instructed. (John 14:26) I pray that my heart and spirit will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit guidance and conviction of anything that is hindering my relationship with Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1:5) Amen