SATURDAY 14 November, 2015

In the Battles

Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. - 2 Samuel 5:17-18

The Philistines heard of David being anointed king of Israel, and they were worried. They knew David was a great warrior. When David fought under Saul for the nation of Israel, they had faced him. Remember, when David ran from Saul, he ran to the land of the Philistines and King Achish welcomed him (1 Samuel 27). However, the lords of the Philistines did not trust David to fight with them; they feared David and his men turning against them (1 Samuel 29).

David and his men returned home to Israel and David would lead his men against Israel’s enemies. The Philistines were an enemy to Israel and they knew David. They knew David and his men were good fighters, so they were afraid. They wanted to take care of the problem right away.

Clearly, God’s hand was upon David. He had anointed David, trained him and raised him up to be king of Israel. God’s love for David did not mean his reign as king was easy. It does not mean he did not have enemies or God wiped out his enemies. It means God was with him no matter what he had to face.

As Christians, our lives are not always easy. Sometimes, we fight even greater battles as our enemy, Satan, deploys against us. What we know for certain is that God is with us, ready to fight the battle through us.

Our journey is uphill, with a dead body upon our back, the devil doing what he can to pull us down.
~Philip Henry~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit Somebodylovesyouradio.org!