Well-Equipped for Battle

“For who is God but the Lord?  And who is a rock, except our God?—the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.  He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.  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.” –Psalm 18:31-3 (ESV).

 

Warfare can be of many kinds.  Enemies sometimes go to war to fight over land, possessions, or ideologies and armies clash until one is defeated or a truce is agreed upon.  Individual enemies disagree and spar.  In olden days, duels with swords were sometimes used to settle differences; one was almost always sure to lose his life.  But there is a more subtle warfare.  Paul the apostle called this warfare spiritual,  “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic power over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, ESV).  Psalm 18 is long, containing 50 verses.  The superscription tells us it is “a Psalm of David who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul”  David praises God for being his Rock, his Fortress, his Strength, his Deliverer, his Support, his Lamp Lighter, his Trainer, his Equipper, and his Lord.  Many of these names for God, David’s Fortress, are repeated throughout the Psalm.  He was well equipped for battle because the Lord was there supporting and defending.  But at the same time David himself  praised the Lord, and as he states in verses 20-24, he was faithful to the Lord and practiced righteousness before Him.  The whole song is David’s tribute of praise for the Lord’s mercy and deliverance.  Because he was faithful to the Lord, the Lord heard and answered him in time of trouble. 

As I have been emphasizing for several days now in these devotionals, we are in a massive “Unite in Prayer” effort throughout our country to call people back to God and to sincerely seek His forgiveness and grace.  Today I read a report coming from another part of our country about a prayer group gathering in a churchyard to pray in this effort.  Across the street from the prayer warriors a group of demonstrators gathered with signs of ridicule and protest.  Among the signs were these:  “40 Days of Ignorance” (to ridicule the 40 Days of Prayer emphasis);  another sign read “Pro-Choice” (to laud the right for abortion); still another was bolder still, reading “Anti-Christ.”  Those who had gathered to pray continued their prayer vigil.  After taunts, ridicule and waving their signs, the protesters finally moved on.  Those who had met to pray were determined to voice their own confession and pleas to the Lord.  They took time to pray for those who harassed them.  Even in America, the forces of evil are seeking to infiltrate strongholds of faith.  The devil is waging warfare for the minds of people to turn them against the teachings of the Lord.  We need to be strongly armed for this spiritual battle, which will become more volatile as we move closer to the Lord’s second coming.  We arm ourselves with the Spirit and the Word.  Peter urged that every believer should “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason or the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15, ESV).  How well-equipped are you for the spiritual battle that is certainly here and will become worse?

Prayer.  Lord, I pray that our leaders, both political and spiritual, will arm themselves with the Word of God and the Spirit of God.  Equip them, with the strength they need to stand stalwartly for the right.  We need strong leaders today to stand in the gap and be an example for others to emulate.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.