PSALM 18:34-39 – He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand supported me, and your gentleness made me great. You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip. I pursued my enemies and overtook them, and did not turn back till they were consumed. I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet. For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.
THEME OF THE DAY: HE EQUIPS. WE FIGHT. Without question, the greatest philosopher and theologian God ever produced in our country was the 18th century man Jonathan Edwards. His sermons and writings on revival, true religious affections, Christian love, and the human will are worth investing much time and study. He also is often quoted in contemporary books and from pulpits around the globe. Even in devotions, like our QBC Daily Nugget, which will now include an appropriate quote from Edwards pertaining to the scripture and theme of the day. Edwards said, “God has appointed this whole life to be all as a race or a battle; the state of rest, wherein we shall be so out of danger as to have no need of watching and fighting, is for another world.”
Edwards tells us, according to God and he has ample scriptural support for his statement, that basically life this side of heaven for the believer is one of warfare, daily conflict, and lived on a battlefield not in a playground. Do we believe that about our lives? Here is the evidence we do or not. When we woke up this morning, even before we got out of bed or started to engage our responsibilities, did we pause and remind ourselves of the spiritual conflict from the devil, world, and our flesh that we just entered? The Apostle Paul instructs us using present tense active verbs – Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-11). Did we obey them? Will we tomorrow? If we are not aware that each dawning of a new day is a call to arms, a call to battle, we are casualties in the spiritual warfare God has ordained is the whole of the Christian life. And what is implied in Paul’s words and today’s scripture is a strategy for this war that involved God’s part and ours. Always remember, God equips us but God does not fight for us. God gives His armor for battle. We must put it on for battle and then we must, by faith and obedience, do battle.
In today’s scripture, the majority of the language is of a military flavor like training, equipping, and battle. And just like in literal military service, training comes before fighting. Equipping is part of training but when it comes to battle, that is upon us. God equips. We fight. So, is this happening in our lives? Part of training is knowing our enemies and their tactics, followed by getting equipped with the right weapons and protection to engage the enemy. Are we? Is growing in the knowledge of the tactics from the devil, world, and our flesh arming us to fight successful warfare against them? Don’t believe the “sounds good theology” of “Let go and let God.” It isn’t true. Yes, we surrender to God but that is not passive or inactive. Simply put, God doesn’t live the Christian life for us and that includes the spiritual warfare that defines the Christian life. He equips. We fight. Let’s start each day with these truths applied in our lives.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to trust You to equip me for spiritual battle and then put my faith into doing battle”
QUOTE: “God equips us for battle but He will not allow us to sit passively in spiritual warfare. We are called to battle.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim