Your Training Ground
The reason I am writing this is to remind Us the battle we are facing is not
ours, but God’s.
If you are a child of his, you can be certain that Satan will “rage against you.”
In 2 Chronicles 20, a great multitude came against God’s people. King
Jehoshaphat and his people set their hearts to seek the Lord and to fast.
*The king cried out to God a prayer that most of us have prayed at times in our spiritual journey:
“We have no might against these that come against us, neither do we know what to do; but our eyes are upon you” (20:12). Amen
“The Spirit of God came in the midst of the congregation…saying, Be not afraid nor dismayed…for the battle is not yours, but God’s (20:14-15).
“He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.” – 2 Samuel 22:35
David was a mighty warrior, and God described him as a man after His own heart.
*God took David through a training ground that could be looked on as cruel and unusual punishment by many a person.
* God chose David at a young age to be the next king, yet King Saul rejected him and hunted him down.
* David was a fugitive for many years.
* David had uprisings in his own family.
* David had relationship problems.
***David had a life of extreme ups and downs.
* David certainly did not have a life free of problems; he made mistakes. He was human like all of us, YET he Learned from his mistakes and Repented when he failed.
This was David’s training ground; it made the man.
* Without these hardships, it is doubtful David would have accomplished what he did.
Toward the end of David’s life, he recounted his relationship with God. It is a sermon on God’s ways of dealing with a servant leader.
It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me Your shield of victory; You stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn (2 Samuel 22:33-37).
**God was David’s source for everything.
For, freedom only comes through victory over the enemy afforded you by the victory gained through the cross. Exercise the authority the Lord has given you.
1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
God gave David the ability to achieve the many extraordinary things in his life.
It was a lifelong training ground that moved him from one plateau to another, often dropping into a ravine of despair and hopelessness from time to time.
*FEAR NOT! These are God’s ways. They drive us deeper and deeper into the heart of Him who HAS prepared a way for us.
I shudder to think of how much blessing I would have missed if I had given up
in that dark hours, failures and the Valleys of Life . How glad I am today that God taught me to face my failures
and go on to his next step for me.
Let God take you to the Heights OR Depths He desires for you.
God never promised smooth sailing during the trip, but GOD DID Promise to be the captain and companion along the way.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17).
*We don’t have to perform to make God love us.
*God loves us so that we can do!
* You can’t earn God, and you don’t need to.
**Quit trying to BE who you already are!
**Don’t read your Bible to make Jesus happy, read it to KNOW Him more.
Thank you Jesus for the promise that life built on Your Sayings, is a life that will weather the storms. Lord, help me today to do Your will & trust the outcomes to You.
Thank you Lord for your word which says Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. (1Thessalonians. 5:16-19)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens. Amen
* 2 Timothy 2:15
* 2 Peter 1:3