Welcome to A Word for Today

What a remarkable discovery.   David had been anointed King over Israel, but yet he was still in the fields tending his father’s sheep.  He had been appointed as King Saul’s personal musician to soothe his spirit that was tormented by an evil spirit, but was still considered the waiter and delivery boy for his brothers' meals.  He was a warrior, but no one other then his flock knew it.  He was young, but faithful.   WOW!!! That is another message in and of itself, but let’s go deeper.
So here we have David who has heard about the taunting threats of an enormous Philistine by the name of Goliath.  All of Israel feared these threats, including its current king, Saul.  But David, the worshipper, the faithful shepherd and warrior wasn’t fearful of anything or anyone that would attempt to defy the Armies of THE LORD.  Notice he didn’t say…Saul’s armies.  But he said the people, the battle and this victory belongs to the Lord.  David told Saul he would fight the battle and God would deliver Goliath into his hands just as he had delivered the bear and lion which tried to kill one of his sheep.  So because Saul had no other choices or brave warriors, he agreed to let David go to battle for Israel.  But Saul, who was KNOWN for making self-centered and foolish decisions, gave his armor to David to fight against Goliath.    MAJOR MISTAKE!!!

Saul was a tall, muscular man and David was ruddy and young.  Saul’s armor was fine and the best there could be seeing that he was the King.  But what good would Saul’s armor be to David if it didn’t fit or he didn’t know how to manage and maneuver in it.  Saul’s armor would become a burden instead of a defense. 

But could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

Here we are, forced to take a look at ourselves.  I realize that most of us, when we read the Bible and the Children of Israel are mentioned, we often become self-righteous and think what awful examples of saints these people were.  However, the Children of Israel are not that far from where most of us live.  We find the Children of Israel walking into the promises of God and taking the cities of Canaan.  However, as the Tribe of Judah approached this battle, they became fearful.  Mainly their fear was based on the fact that their enemies had chariots of iron.  God had already promised them that He would help them and strengthen them to drive out the Canaanites in the valley though they had chariots of iron.  So why, then, could they not do what God said they could do?  The answer is FEAR!!!!  The battle was of the Lord, who would have ensured their success in every encounter whether on the mountain or in the valley, with foot soldiers or cavalry.  It was fear and unbelief that made them afraid of the valley dwellers and their iron chariots.  The people there had iron chariots and therefore, risky or dangerous to attack them (or so they thought).  But didn’t Israel have God on their side?  The Bible says “the chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels.”   God had already promised to give them success against the Canaanites in this very mission without excluding those that had iron chariots.  Yet they allowed their fears to triumph against their faith; they could not trust God under these circumstances because it seemed impossible.  They shamefully withdrew their forces when with one bold stroke they could have accomplished their victories.

Many times we are guilty of the exact same thing when it comes to out valleys.  We LOVE the mountains because they symbolize victory and success; but when we are forced to fight in the valley, we fall apart.  But every mountain has two valleys.  While we enjoy the victories of the mountain, we can’t get caught up with what happened on the mountain and not be watchful because every mountain has two valleys.  We must realize that we can’t live on the mountain; if so, that means there is no progression.  We must continue from mountain down to the valley and from the valley up to the mountain.  There will be a valley but just because there is a valley doesn’t mean that we can’t still be victorious in the valley.  It is in the valley that we learn to appreciate and rely on the power of God.  It is in the valley that we are developed into REAL warriors.  Many times it is in the valley that the enemy taunts us.  But like Jesus when he was tempted of the devil in the valley (wilderness), we can speak the Word over our own lives and walk out triumphant. 

We see that just because you have a mountain victory, doesn’t mean fear can’t grip you when it comes to the valley experience.  Elijah had just killed hundreds of prophets of Baal during a challenge on Mt Carmel; however, soon afterward, he was running for his life and fearful because Jezebel had put a hit out on his life.  The day after a spiritual promotion or the time when God is blessing you, when things seem to be on an upswing, just know that the valley is somewhere near.  But the same God that defeated the prophets of Baal on the mountain is the same God that would defeat Jezebel in the valley.  Even as God told the children of Israel that He would help them defeat their valley dwelling enemies, I know He will do the same for each us.   Have faith in God!!

Be Blessed!