Let God fight your battles


  • ”And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.“ ‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬
  • “They” of course includes David. David “mourned” over Saul. Not only did he mourn, he wept and fasted! Saul, the one who was jealous of David and everything he did. Saul who tried to pin David to the wall, not once but twice with his spear to kill him! Saul who was always trying to hunt David down. Saul who allowed bitterness and envy to rule him. I personally would think David would celebrate that his tormentor was finally dead. But not David, he mourned, fasted and wept over the death of Saul. 
  • I could learn a lot about forgiveness from David. It’s easy for me to want to hold a grudge, or want someone who has hurt me to   suffer hurt and know what it feels like. It’s easy to want to take revenge. But like David, Jesus calls me to  something much higher. In Matthew 5:43-44, Jesus teaches us, “”You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,“
  • ‭‭Easy? Absolutely not! The challenge for me then, is to be nice to those who aren’t nice to me; maybe by a simple act of kindness. To love the difficult people in my life who seem to take pleasure in criticizing and putting me down. Instead, pray for them. Continue to help them, even when I’d rather not. The challenge for me is to learn not to take things personally, don’t become so defensive, don’t make it about me, but try and understand hurting people hurt people, they need love and forgiveness just like me. They need Jesus to heal them just like me. 
  • This is a battle not easily won, for my fleshy self wants its way, but then I remember, the battle is not mine but God’s, see 2 Chronicles 20:15. And He is always fighting for me, as Deuteronomy 20:4 says “for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’“(ESV)



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