Psalm 33:12-22
What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people he has chosen as his inheritance. The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do. The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior. Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—for all its strength, it cannot save you. But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine. We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.
One of the (generally) misunderstood
issues of the relationship of Christian faith to military prowess is assigning naïveté
to the former, and complete trust in the later.
The Psalmist, probably King David, is no stranger to military
ventures. His remarkable career started in
a tussle with a giant, and David was celebrated for victories aplenty…so much
so, it drove King Saul crazy. David understood
battle, and he understood the value of military might. But, even with the start of the skirmish with
Goliath, David trusted God much more than any earthly strength:
David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. 1 Samuel 17:45-46
We know David wasn’t
perfect; later his mistakes with his family and his fidelity proved that he was
an imperfect man, capable of messing up more than most. But, at least at this point, David had it
together, using strength, but trusting in God.
Fast forward several
millennia and you have the world’s population on its knees, not necessarily praying. We’ve been knocked to our knees by a bug so
small we cannot see it without a microscope.
COVID19 has taken over the economy, our activity, and news cycles
unending. The debate rages about how to
act, what to do, and whom to avoid. And
our trust may be misplaced.
I say that because some
advocate throwing caution to the winds, simply, and naively trusting that they
don’t have to use common sense. They act
as if being a person of faith guarantees them an immunity from biological attack. On the other hand, there are those who imagine
the entire effort rests with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and all the
technology man has marshalled against the demonic bug.
It’s time to remember
that David took a big risk fighting Goliath, but he also packed more than one
stone. And the boy who took down a
9-foot battle-hardened enemy, was fighting with faith and a plan. There was nothing naïve in
a kid accustomed to facing “hairy” nightmares.
As a shepherd, David knew how to go up against the odds. When King Saul questioned him about his chances
against the giant Philistine, David replied:
“I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 1 Samuel 17:34-35
Let’s Pra y
Father, God, we know our trust is to be entirely
placed in You, alone. You have
also given us common sense and strength.
Help us to keep enough common sense to use our strength, and place our
trust in You, and not the other way around, placing our trust in strength, and
using Your promises like a vending machine.
For You Today
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today. Have a blessed day!
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