Lost Battles

"Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God." 1 Samuel 17:36

Our scripture this morning is taken from the conversation that David had with King Saul trying to assure him that he was able to go out and fight against the giant Goliath. David told Saul about the times when a lion and a bear had tried to take some of the sheep that he was watching over and how he slew them both.

As I thought about the lion and even the giant that David was facing, a thought came to me that I want to share this morning. A lion roars even before it begins to chase its prey to destroy it. The roar is intimidating and meant to cause fear in the heart of its prey. Often when the prey hears the roar it becomes fearful and easier for the lion to catch and kill because it is paralyzed by the fear.

The giant that David was going up against also "roared" his intimidations- threatening to destroy David and the whole Israelite army. Intimidation is meant to make you afraid. The devil makes threats against us hoping to paralyze us with fear. The thought I want to share with you is this: if you listen to the enemy's intimidation and allow it to strike fear in your heart, then you have already begun to lose the battle even before you fight it.

The Israelite army believed Goliath's intimidating words and drew back in fear. They were already defeated before they even faced the actual battle. David didn't believe the threats; he didn't allow them to put fear in his heart. Therefore, he was able to go to the battle and defeat him.

If the enemy can get you to believe his lies and threats and make you fearful, then he is already defeating you before you even get to the real battle. If you don't make it to the battlefield to defeat him he will continue to attack you and overcome you. This is why even though the battle was set in array between the Israelites and the Philistines, the Israelites weren't making it to the battlefield to fight and win the victory.

If the enemy is coming against you, don't listen to his threats, don't allow them to paralyze you with fear, go on out to the "real" battle and defeat him and get the victory over him that Jesus already won for you.

Have a great day. If you listen to the enemy's words of intimidation and allow them to strike fear in your heart, then you have already begun to lose the battle even before you fight it.

For further reading:
1 Samuel 17
1 Peter 5:8
2 Corinthians 2:14