By Debra Neybert, Training Specialist
There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker. 2 Samuel 3:1
And they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 2 Samuel 5:3b-4
There was a LONG war….can you relate? Many of the battles and struggles we are presently facing are intended to be stepping stones into the plans and purposes that God has for us. Long wars produce mighty warriors; if we faint not! David’s entire life is an example of that. Every hindrance he encountered was forming character in him, and moving him closer to fulfilling the call on his life.
Not very long before David’s season of victory, when he was anointed King over all Israel, he said to himself, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines.” (1 Samuel 27:1). Can we not identify? David deeply doubted there would ever be an end to his troubles. He wanted to escape the battle for fear of being overtaken, but God proved faithful. In David’s weakness, God proved strong and mighty!
That long war caused David to grow stronger and stronger. Like David, God is taking us from Glory to Glory and from strength to strength! We may not always feel that way, but our strength is found in the Lord; He alone arms us with strength and makes our way perfect. (Psalm 18:32)
One of the keys that David possessed in the midst of his battles and in the midst of personal failure was a heart after God. We all know that he sinned greatly, but he also repented greatly. In Psalm 27 David cries out, “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)
David was a man after God’s own heart, which truly was his greatest strength. He knew how to let God be his refuge, his strong tower, his Rock, his shield, his fortress. In other words, he knew how to get in the eye of the storm. He knew how to rest in God in the midst of the battle.
It doesn’t take much discernment to perceive the storm all around us, perhaps there are other more personal storms you are encountering. As we move forward corporately and individually, may we take great encouragement in knowing Him more, fixing our eyes on Him, and understanding that in Him, every storm, every battle has already been settled in Heaven. Ultimately, after being anointed King three times, after a long war, and many diversions along the way, David rested in the fulfillment of God’s promise and so will we, if we faint not!
He is with you, He is for you, and He loves you!
