[Life of David] How to Wage Our Own BattlesSample

He Trains Me for Battle

An army spends months training before the first confrontation. Can you imagine how effective a soldier would be without combat training? We read in the book of Psalms that David was being trained for battle by God. As a young boy, David had to prove himself by trusting God to help him win small battles. He fought with lions and bears that came after the sheep he tended before he fought the big battles. Therefore, when David was king and God commanded him to fight a battle, he was confident; he knew how it worked.And the victory came from God.

David trusted God. However, he also had to do what was necessary, such as training, deciding on strategies to use against the enemy, and then fighting the battle. In the same way, our faith and our works go together. When fighting the battle, we must believe God and do what His Word says to see the victory. When faith and works are put together in a heart that follows the guidance of the Lord, miracles happen. Our motivation and the intention of our heart in a battle must be to please the Lord in the love of Christ.

The Lord has already given us the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. He places strength and trust in our soul, and He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide our lives, so we have all we need to fight the battle and conquer. God prepares us for battle with small fights where we can see the power of God in action. When He answers our prayers, for example, healing a headache or flu, we see how His grace is over us for greater challenges. Most of the time we don’t realize that we are prepared for a big battle until it appears, but as in the small fights, we can be sure that God won’t leave us. He will fight with us and for us.

Our faith should be the source of our works. The time that you spend memorizing the Scripture, connecting with God, and learning to obey His Word is the source that fuels your works. Your faith is what will support you in the middle of the battle.