Belonging

 
 

“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.