Mind and Muscle

For various reasons I've been doing the Grace Valley reading schedule recently instead of the Gracepoint one for DT's. Grace Valley Christian Center is my friend's church in Davis, and for their reading schedule they read a couple of books from the Old and New testaments every day. It's been going over 1 Samuel recently.

One thing that strikes me about David during his time as a fugitive is his complete reliance on God. In 1 Samuel 26, he's running for his life with his ragtag band of followers and he hears the news that the Israelite city of Keilah is under attack by the Philistines. He inquires of the Lord whether he should go save Keilah. The Lord answers in the affirmative, but David's men are afraid, saying that as it is they're scared for their lives, and how much more if they try to take on these Philistines. David inquires again, the Lord answers again with a promise of victory. David and his small band go and defeat the Philistines, saving the city of Keilah.

How do I face difficulty? Come up with a better plan, try harder. Mind and muscle. David's certainly intelligent, strong, and brave, but he takes no stock in these things. In an honest assessment of the situation, the soldiers were right; they didn't have the military capacity to be going of and fighting whole armies of Philistines while they were running for their own lives, they didn't have the strength, it wasn't a strategic move. But David, a man after God's own heart, relies entirely on the Lord for his strength, and in simple obedience fights the Lord's battle and emerges victorious.

This is the only way to face life. Things are too uncertain for me to take stock in myself. God is faithful, God loves me; neither death nor life, neither angles nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus my Lord. These are the truths I need to grab hold of, and only in these things, not myself, can I have stability and certainty and security.