“Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul.” (1 Samuel‬ ‭17:8‬ NLT)

Goliath, the nine foot tall Philistine, taunted the troops gathered to fight. He brazenly slid his credentials across the table to compare them with the Israelites: “I am a champion! You belong to Saul!”

Goliath made a mistake of his own proportion. He wrongly assumed that he was up against Saul’s people, but he was actually waging war with God’s people.

Sadly, it seems that the Israelites made the same faulty call. They had demanded a king. Then when they got their king, he had demanded his own way. Somewhere amidst all their battles, they had all forgotten Who they belonged to.

I wonder if we can relate? We get mired in life’s skirmishes: work, family, household management, community commitments. The legalities of living wear us out and down and we begin to slowly, subtly forget who we are. We forget that we belong to the Most High God. Then the enemy comes along; big and scary and threatening. We wind up cowering in fear on the edge of the battlefield, unable to move forward into the victory we are meant to possess.

David entered the scene, sure of his status: belonging to God. A big, ugly giant could not dissuade this small shepherd boy. Little David was rock-solid certain of his identity because he had been in the hills with the sheep, all the while learning to hear the Father’s heart for His people.

Beloved, giants will come into our lives. We can bet on it. We will not be caught off-guard or ill-prepared for battle if we build a strong habit of regular encounters with our true King. In those encounters; on open hills or at lamp-lit desks, or in the sacred stillness of an empty sanctuary, we learn to let His voice be loudest in our lives. Then, when the enemy shouts lies, we can easily overcome them with truth, as deftly as our small shepherd boy landed one, smooth stone. When we are sure of who we are in God, we can win the day and eternity.

“…overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” (Romans‬ ‭8:37‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

Remember, no matter how large and loud the enemy might be, God loves us more. He’s so sure of His relationship with us that He sent His Son to prove it, to purchase our lives back from the enemy that we might belong to Him forever.

Lord, we may be facing a Goliath today, but we belong to You. Whisper that in our souls this morning. Seal our sonship in our hearts and minds. We are Yours. Nothing can get in the way of the truth if we’ll only firmly grasp it. Our belonging is essential to our success on the battleground in this life. Equip us with Your Spirit as we seek to gain ground. Amen.

“You are arrayed in holy garments, and your strength will be renewed each day like the morning dew.” (Psalms‬ ‭110:3‬b ‭NLT‬‬)

It seems here, that the Lord is speaking to David, through David. In this psalm, God encourages David to continue to grow in divine intimacy. He ensures David that He can be trusted for victories. He speaks vision of an ever-expanding Kingdom. He commits to protect and proliferate His faithful servant.

Then He reminds David of the robes of righteousness he wears by faith. God, in His mercy, sacrificed animals in the Garden to temporarily cover man’s transgression and then again on the cross to cover sin forever. David wears such a garment. As do we. Lastly, He reinforces His servant; “your strength will be renewed each day like the morning dew.”

Today, I find this incredibly encouraging. I only managed a few hours of fitful sleep before I crawled into my van in the dark and drove a hundred miles or more to sit again the same hospital room and wait for new information. Renewed strength is what I need most this morning. Perhaps you feel the same?

“The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.” (Psalms‬ ‭28:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

Lord, thank You for meeting us in the morning. You renew us with promises and power. May our gratitude cause our hearts to sing forever. Amen.

“My heart is confident in You, O God; no wonder I can sing Your praises with all my heart.” (Psalm 108:1 NLT)

“I will thank You, among all the people. I will sing Your praises among the the nations. For Your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.” (Psalm 108:3-4 NLT)

I love to bake. Something about the ancient rhythms of baking; the measuring, mixing and portioning, transform it into a restorative, holy task in my mind. When I read these passages this morning, I saw it as a recipe for rescue. The psalmist has carefully laid out the steps for us to engage our God when we need His aid.

First, the psalmist expresses his confidence in God. Sometimes, it feels hard to do so in the face of a new problem or pain. This is when past performance record serves to reinforce His faithfulness. As we examine our history, we recall the ways God has moved before; for us and others.

Next, the psalmist starts thanking God. We can begin anywhere; with those historic encounters we’ve uncovered or with the small gifts we’ve witnessed just today, along the hard path we’re currently walking. Thanksgiving helps us identify His sovereign hand still at work.

Thanksgiving gives way to praise and the psalmist doesn’t hold back. When we can begin thanking God, we haven’t a long way to go to start praising Him. As we count the seemingly insignificant gifts, big changes begin in our heart and our feelings start to catch up with our knowings. 

Lastly, the psalmist is ready to make his request known. He doesn’t hold back and neither should we.

“Now rescue Your beloved people. Answer and save us by Your power.” (Psalm 108:6)

This morning, I am going to apply this recipe for rescue to my own personal prayer need. I invite you, in your own words, to do the same.

Dearest Lord, I am certain of Your strength and love. I know that You are able and compassionate. You have never failed us yet. Even what has felt like failure in the past has always had Kingdom purpose in hindsight. I trust that will be the case again. I thank You for all the ways You have moved in my brother’s heart and body and life. We have each been profoundly affected for Your Kingdom by his story. He is not the same man who moved in with us a year ago. Lord, I praise You for Your faithfulness to our family, You have seen us steadily through some tough territory these past few years. I am sure that You will move again. Now Lord, please rescue him from this infection. One touch from Your hand could resolve the entire ordeal. We place him in Your capable hands. Amen.

“With God’s help, we will do mighty things, for He will trample down our foe.” (Psalm 108:13 NLT)

“When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.” (John 6:15 NLT)

Jesus just fed the five thousand. Five loaves and two fish had proven more than enough with the Savior’s blessing. Our pittance is profound when surrendered to Kingdom purpose. The crowd was wowed and started making plans to forcibly call Him king. Jesus disappeared into the hills and far away from what had to feel like temptation. A crowd crowning would have been infinitely easier than the twisted wreath of thorns He’d eventually bear.

We read this scripture and realize that while our personal agenda pushes Jesus away, surrender pulls Him close. We are to conform to His plans, not Him to ours.

We discussed this at length in last night’s Bible study. The topic was the Transfiguration and most specifically, Peter’s impulsive proposal to put up three tents and make the moment last forever.

“As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials —one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them.” (Luke 9:33-34 NLT)

Again, man is proposing an easier route. To their credit, Jesus, Moses and Elijah ignore his impertinent statement and stick to the agenda at hand, the Father’s will had to go forward. The meeting wraps up and God, Himself, gives His gold stamp of approval on the agreed agenda.

“Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.”” (Luke 9:35 NLT)

In that moment, God the Father sealed the deal publicly on exactly who His Son was. He made it clear that He expects obedience.

Part of following Christ is surrendering our plan to His will. Surrender to a perfect Savior breeds intimacy with our Savior. Peter eventually figures it out and learns to lead the church God’s way. Have we?

God’s will is going forward with or without us. The most effective and least painful response we can have is getting on board with Him. The oft-repeated prayer is “Thy will be done.” In four words, we align our hearts with His agenda and surrender to His flawless sovereignty.

Lord, we see that You have a perfect plan. We don’t want to force our way, we couldn’t if we tried. Instead, we seek to align ourselves with Your will. Have Your way through us. Amen.