The Battle Is the Lord's

Note from today’s Bible reading: 1 Samuel 17-20; Psalm 11; 59

When a Philistine giant named Goliath taunted the army of Israel and challenged them to send one man to fight him in order to decide the battle, King Saul and the rest of the army of Israel were afraid. No one was willing to answer Goliath’s challenge.

However, there was one who arrived later and volunteered when he heard the giant – a young shepherd boy named David. He went to the fight with just “five smooth stones…and his sling” (1 Samuel 17:40). Goliath was insulted that this was his challenger and cursed David.

David responded by declaring that he came “in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you” (1 Samuel 17:45-46). This was an awfully bold claim! How could David be so confident? He said, “The battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:47).

This was exactly what happened. David killed Goliath, and the Israelites defeated the Philistines because God was with them. We need to keep this in mind as we “fight the good fight of faith” today (1 Timothy 6:12).

So remember that the battle is the Lord’s. We need to have the courage of David and be confident in the final outcome. No matter how strong our enemies are, we will be victorious if we remain on God’s side.