Saturday 6 Sep 2014

September 6: 1 Chronicles 14:8-12

Key Verse: 1 Chronicles 14:10
And David inquired of God, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” The Lord said to him, “Go up, for I will deliver them into your hand.”

Devotion:
This is the same account as told in 2 Samuel 5:17-21 where king David asks the Lord before going to war with the Philistines. The Philistines were probably testing the water after David had become king not knowing that God was behind this king. When evil rises up against God and God gives command to go out and defeat that evil it is a battle in vain for evil because God has already declared the victory. This is the awesome power of our God and we should remember these instances when we are feeling a bit weak in the knees.

God will always support those who go out in His name and in His will. If we take it upon ourselves to go forward and do things then we would be wise to make sure that we have the wherewithal to complete the task or that God is behind us. David was depending on God for the victory and not upon his own strength.

During our own spiritual battles in our lives we need to make sure that God is with us and that we are not running off under our own steam. It is God’s strength and wisdom that will win the fight against evil and not ours. The demonstrations of God’s victory over so much evil and so many of Israel’s enemies should give us the faith and strength we need to depend on God for our spiritual and physical victories; but never go it alone because we need God with us every step of the way!

God had a plan from the beginning because He declared that the Messiah would be a son of David. This did not mean that David would not be able to do anything wrong. David did many things wrong and he himself was not allowed to build the temple for God because of those sins and disobedience. But God made sure that it was still possible for His own promise to come true. We need to make sure that we fully rely on God and continue to uphold His name and ways above all else; that way we can be sure that God is with us in all that we do.

Points to Ponder:
Do you make sure God is with you?

Do you fully rely on God?