Tidbits of Treasure
“‘Now I say to you, that you are Peter (which means ‘Rock’). And upon this Rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.’” (Matthew 16:18 NLT)
I just received a text from a friend of mine; her son has been very sick these last four years, with ulcerative colitis. The battle that rages around this woman and her son, has been fierce and unrelenting. The fatigue and the pain has been worn stoically, like a champion wears his success. Today’s text was one to prayer. A staph infection had returned within hours of her son receiving his last remicade treatment resulting in a need for antibiotics. In all honesty, I know very little about the effects of remicade, but it has been described to me to be like a chemo drug; stripping all healthy immune soldiers in an effort to destroy the unhealthy ones. This infection carries great risk, to the extent of death. What a giant to face, how intimidating must this be to a woman who has unceasingly and obediently, led this battle in faith for her son’s healing.
The plea from my friend, was not one to raise fear in us, but one that raised voices, confident in the faith that the Lord has asked us to embrace. Confident as members of His church, and in the Rock upon which it has been built. He was calling his children to take action against the lies and the fears and to walk out our belief that the LORD is good, loving and faithful. As I turned to the word, I found my fingers led to 1 Samuel;
Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites, ‘Why are you all coming out to fight?’ he called. ‘I am a Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! 9If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves. 10I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!’
1 Samuel 17:8-10 NLT
Goliath spoke the truth when he threw this taunt out to the Israelites. They were all acting like they were the servants of Saul, not the chosen people of God. The Lord used David to remind them who they really were. This verse admittedly reflects the need for each individual to face their giants on their own, but never alone. As we take up our position to support this young man’s battle against this disease and to fight back against the infection that tries to make a slave of my friend and her son, we are reminded about who we are and trust the Truth. We claim the words of David and say, “Do not fear this infection that comes against you with threats of complication and death, for we come against it in the name of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies – the God of the armies of Israel, whom it has defied. Today the Lord will conquer it, and we will cut off the head of fear. (1 Samuel 17:45-46 NLT)
Saul’s action of having David try on his armour, spoke of the servant role his men played. Because of David’s great faith however; he would not become a servant to Saul, but, instead declared his loyalty to God, “The LORD who rescued me [before] …, will rescue me from this Philistine!” (1 Samuel 17:37) By believing the Lord was capable and wanting to deliver him from the giant, he displayed the childlike faith that we are all called to live in. He was the example of one who fully and completely, trusted in the Lord. We will not hide in the coats of the doctors, but instead we will bravely and confidently face this giant and claim the goodness of God. The Lord is still in the business of miracles, it is us, who have watered down our expectations that no longer believe they exist. No more! Today we stand in faith and declare in victory what is ours. Today we will shout, LORD, show us your Glory! “And everyone assembled here will know that the LORD rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the LORD’s battle.” (1 Samuel 17:47)
There is great comfort in knowing that only one is required to fight the battle. The one who is greater and stronger than all else will use the weak among us, to declare victory and to show His glory! My friend’s son, is a valiant warrior of the faith. Fragile, but not broken; tired, but not defeated. Because of his love for God, I am confident that he is only being tested, so that his faith may be strengthened. The Word says, “the angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them..” (Psalm 34:7 NIV), it does not claim to remove us from the battle, but, to deliver us.
Power comes in knowing that the LORD is the one who fights our battles for us; grab hold of this tidbit of treasure. Sometimes, we need to be the ones in action, and other times we need to be the ones on our knees. When we hide from our giants that stir up fear and doubt, it draws us away from God and no longer are we his children, but Saul’s servants. Let’s determine that today, we will no longer be a servant to Saul, but live as the chosen people of God. We will refuse to look at the physical and the external, and instead, we will dwell in the internal of our hearts and claim victory with confidence as we “come to [the giant], in the name of the LORD. . . This is the LORD’s battle.” (1 Samuel 17:45-47)
In The Swindoll Study Bible, Chuck Swindoll says,
The best battles God wins are ones in which we find ourselves absolutely overwhelmed, intimidated, outmanned, and outmuscled. When God fights and wins a battle through us, He does it apart from the odds and with no concern for appearance. When God fights, you too can face and conquer the giants in your life.¹
Battles against disease and infection, joblessness, and relationships, or any number of other conflicts, can be overwhelming; making us feel helpless at times. If you are being called to face your giant, finding your faith wavering and your strength depleted, let David remind you; even the smallest, weakest, most unlikely individual, has the power to defeat that which the enemy uses for harm.
This is an opportunity to live out your faith and believe that you are capable of being a David, in your own life. You may be intimidated, but the fact of the matter remains, God is greater than anything you face — draw your strength from him. You are not alone in your walk. You are surrounded on all sides, by angels and Jesus, by the Lord himself and the Holy Spirit who works within you reminding you of the truths you already know; and the lessons you are still to learn. Turn to the word and be strengthened by his truths, then get down on your knees and pray for the Lord to come and fight for you.
Abba Father,
You are our Jehovah-Jireh, you are our provider and we need you. We need your strength to lift our doubts and fears as we face our giants. Today, we claim victory in the name of Jesus, and come against what is meant to harm. We believe you have already gone before us God, sending out your armies in numbers too great to count. We will not be intimidated by what we are called to face. We will take courage in you Lord, believing that this season will lead to your glory. When we have been fully sifted Father, we pray that our faith will not fail, but that we will turn back, to strengthen our brothers and sisters. We pray this now, in Jesus’ name,
Amen
Additional scriptures (NIV):
Luke 22:31, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 103:1-5, 2 Chronicles 20:15b
¹ Charles Swindoll, The Swindoll Study Bible (Carol Stream, Illinois:Tyndale House Publishing, Inc., 2017), 352.
