My dear friend Tracy really sees the poetry of life, she seeks after Wisdom and she loves the Lord. I am so glad she shares her heart with us. Won’t you make her feel welcome by posting a comment below?

“So it was, when the Philistine arose and came near to meet David that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:48).

Note that David “hurried and ran toward” the giant, Goliath. What lifesize ‘˜giants’ have you run toward lately? My most recent giant has been evening comfort eating. Without formal invitation, food easily stole into the role of companion and friend after meal hours. One day I recognized it as the fraud that it was, as a stronghold.

A stronghold is a place of strength. The habit of late night indulgence had power over me and began creating physical and emotional unhappiness. Being in bondage to the flesh, I considered an array of worldly weapons, in search of the perfect plan for transformation. Why are we so quick to devise human plans to win battles?

Diet plans, power politics, organizational programs, demonstrations, and boycotts are several examples of worldly weapons we utilize to tackle life’s obstacles. There is a book entitled, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society (amazon affiliate link). It is a secular attempt to explain and troubleshoot man’s problems. As you may imagine, there is a fundamental problem: it is one-dimensional.

For Christians, this scripture adds greater dimension to the fight:  Second Corinthians 4:18  ”we do not look at things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

As we encounter the looming, life-sized giants in our day to day lives, we should imitate David and shift from the defensive to offensive. He stripped himself of Saul’s earthly armor and hurried toward the giant solely with the armor of God.

Jonah, equipped with God’s weapon of Truth, saved the city of sinful Ninevah. The weapon of Love led to healing a potential horrendous family war with David and Jonathan. The weapon of righteousness and obedience saved Noah’s entire family during the flood. The dual weapons of prayer and faith plucked Gideon and many others out of certain demise.

In warfare, it is essential that we know the enemy.  Stare it down.  Confess and repent to the Savior. Then proceed to “hurry and run toward” Him. The power of the Lord is strong enough to win my battle over food. By claiming the weapon of faith and prayer, I have stepped forward and declared a certain time of evening off limits to food. During this latter part of the day I activate the power of faith/prayer weapons. In place of the fraud “friend” of food, I’ve enlisted the support of some real friends. They utilize the weapon of prayer on my behalf. My heart is grateful for them.

Is your life in balance, as the Lord would have it? If not, what are your strongholds? Anything in excess would qualify as a stronghold. In the Book of Titus, God tells the women not to be “given to much wine” (Chapter 2). In our day this could translate to an excess in social media, shopping, eating, alcohol, T.V. etc. God desires that we confess the “inward parts”. There are no secrets. The battle is not worldly, therefore pick up God’s weapons, and hurry to meet your giant, face to face.

“For though we live in the world we are not carrying on a worldly war, for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).

 

 

 

 

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