Every morning starts a new day… You do wrong, and you’re thrown down hard. If you are what you called yourself, a quitter, you don’t get up again; but if you are a man you make a new beginning.”
–William MacLeod Raine (Sons of the Saddle)
“Though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin.”
–Proverbs 24:16 (HCSB)
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When you read the Psalms of David you will notice that there is some kind of battle taking place in most of them. The battle may be against physical enemies or the enemy of his soul. Sometimes both. It seems that there are very few that show a life of ease, but they do show a life of victory even though there may be wounds and turmoil along the way. George O. Wood stated, “Until we are in God’s eternal presence, there is always another battle to be faced, another enemy to be dealt with.”
Let’s turn again to Psalm 21, this time to verses 8-13 (HCSB) and see how David faces his enemies.
8 – Your hand will capture all your enemies; your right hand will seize those who hate you.
9 – You will make them burn like a fiery furnace when you appear; the Lord will engulf them in His wrath, and fire will devour them.
10 – You will wipe their descendants from the earth and their offspring from the human race.
11 – Though they intend to harm you and devise a wicked plan, they will not prevail.
12 – Instead, you will put them to flight when you aim your bow at their faces.
13 – Be exalted, Lord, in Your strength; we will sing and praise Your might.
It seems that David recognizes that God also has enemies. There are people under the control of Satan that try to fight against God. In this we see that he has the perspective that during the battle it is not over until we stop and give praise to the Lord.
There is also shown something of that final war against the Lord and its results. The Lord will devour His enemies with fire. They may laugh and mock Him before the battle but when it is over they face a blazing oven. They plan evil against the Lord, however, they will not be successful. It seems like this is happening more and more often today. People are planning and plotting against God; trying to invent ways to fight and defeat Him. God is not worried!
“Yea, Amen! let all adore Thee,
High on Thine eternal throne;
Savior, take the power and glory;
Claim the Kingdom for Thine own:
O come quickly, O come quickly,
Hallelujah! Come, Lord, come.”
–John Cennick
In the midst of our struggles, our battles remember the attacks that are upon the Lord. Trust in Him and don’t despair. Victory is assured. Lean upon His strength.
Prayer: “Lord, may I enlarge my understanding of Your strength–which is far more than the strength to do whatever You want. Your strength is that of character: fidelity, covenant-keeping, unfailing love, mercy, kindness, and goodness. Help me today to have that kind of strength.”
–George O. Wood