The Believer’s Battle Cry

Tommy Boland, Cross Community Church

battle“All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:47, NIV).

1 Samuel 17 recounts the God-glorifying story of David and Goliath. The Philistine giant Goliath was far bigger, much stronger, and vastly more skilled in battle than was David, the youngest of eight sons of Jesse . . . the shepherd boy. Goliath had every conceivable advantage known to man . . . except one, and that one advantage that David had was the most important one of all: the Lord God Omnipotent! The Philistine giant went into the battle in his own strength, as mighty as that was humanly speaking; David went into the battle in the strength of his God. And, well, you know the rest of the story, as David, in the strength of the Lord, won the day.

 

The battle is the Lord’s

David uttered The Believer’s Battle Cry on that great day in Israel’s history, and it is to be the rallying cry of every child of God, every day of our lives, regardless of the circumstances we are facing: “The battle is the Lord’s.” And if the battle is the Lord’s, our victory is already assured. Now make no mistake, that victory may come with its share of losses and crosses along the way, but the victory is never in doubt. As the apostle Paul would write more than a thousand years later, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Actually, I like to paraphrase what Paul wrote this way: “If God is for us, who cares who or what is against us!”

To the watching world, the Philistine giant Goliath was “a lock,” a “shoe-in,” a guaranteed winner. Even Israel’s King Saul was greatly afraid of this giant of a man, who harshly blasphemed God and challenged the Israelites for forty straight days. But the shepherd boy David, who had never set foot on a battlefield before, knew that the battle was the Lord’s; it didn’t matter how big and strong and experienced Goliath was because God was infinitely bigger and stronger,and more experienced than the giant. And that is what David counted on.

 

What giants are you facing?

What in your life has come up against you that is causing you to shrink back from all that God is calling you to be? The armies of Israel trembled and forgot the power of God when they were confronted by the Philistine giant; you and I are likely to forget God also. The Israelites looked fearfully at the sword and the spear in Goliath’s hand, rather than looking to the God of their salvation. We often do the same thing. If we keep our focus on the size of the giants we are currently facing, the size of our God will shrink so much it will cause us to shrink back from his promises to us. But if we keep our focus on God, as David did, every giant that comes up against us will shrink before our eyes and God will give us glorious victory.

David penned Psalm 108, which concludes with these words: “Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies” (Psalm 108:12-13).

Regardless of the challenges you are facing today in your professional or personal life, the battle is the Lord’s, and he has promised never to leave nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). You can advance confidently toward every giant that comes up against you because the battle is the Lord’s, and he has promised to strengthen you and help you and uphold you (Isaiah 41:10). God did not bring you this far to leave you in defeat. He will carry you past this challenge and all the way into glory. Elsewhere in the Psalms, we read . . . “Why are you depressed, O my soul? Why are you upset? Wait for God! For I will again give thanks to my God for his saving intervention” (Psalm 42:5 NET).

On the surface — and especially to the watching world around you — it might look like you do not possess the strength or the smarts to overcome the giants that confront you. And if you were operating merely in your own strength and your own smarts, the world would be right. But you know the truth, just as David knew the truth: Greater is the power that is in you than any power that comes against you!

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race ,never forget that… Amen!

 

Tommy Boland is senior pastor of Cross Community Church in Deerfield Beach. He blogs regularly at tommyboland.com.

For more articles by Dr. Tommy Boland, visit goodnewsfl.org/tommy-boland.

 

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