We can be like David

I've been reading the old testament this year, slowly.  I've thoroughly enjoyed it.  Right now, I'm on 1st Samuel.  Saul has been annointed king but he has disobeyed God so God has removed His annointing.  Now the Israelites are at war with the Philistines.  They are camped across from each other and every day Goliath comes out and taunts the army or Israel.  He dares them to send a champion to fight against him but the Israelites are afraid of him.

Now enters David.  He is there to bring food to his brothers but he is intrigued by the war.  He heads to the front line to hear what is going on.  Thats when he hears Goliath taunting the army.  David, although he is just a boy, is angered by Goliath's taunting.  He asks who is going to fight Goliath but no one steps forward.  David doesn't hesitate and he volunteers.  Here is where the story gets good.  I'm going to leave out a lot of the details and cut straight to the chase.  David tells Saul what he is going to do and Saul basically tells him he can't do it.  

Here is my favorite part.  It isn't when David kills Goliath, it's what he says to Saul.  David says "Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued  it  from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized  him  by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God." And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." (1 Samuel 17:34-37 NASB).  

How soon many of us forget how God has delivered us from a situation.   Can one of you that is reading this say that God has never bailed you out or given you the strength and ability to bail yourself out?  I can't.  God has bailed me out so many times.  In the last trial that I was going through I read this verse about a dozen times.  I said to the devil, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from you too".  And He did.

Trust in God during your trials and don't doubt Him.  Remember 1 Samuel 17:37 and remind the devil who your deliver is.

I love you and God does too!

Thank you God!!

If you are close to my family, you will know that the last few months have been VERY hard for us.  We have been presented with situations that we never dreamed we would be in.    We have been scared.  I know that we aren't supposed to be but the fact is that as God closed doors and opened others, we were scared.   We questioned God along the way, not much but we did.  

We saw God close a door in May and we knew it but we kept pressing until we thought it was opening again.  In June, we tried to open it again and it seemed like it was opening but once again, God closed it.  At the end of July, we tried once again to open it and much to our dismay, God closed it.  We knew what God wanted us to do based on this door staying closed but going through the open door was going to be hard, so hard.  As we were going through the open door, we tried one last time this past Saturday to open the closed door.  We did EVERYTHING we could to get this door open because it was the easy way out but for the last time, God closed it.

As we continue down this new path that God has set before us, we have to walk by faith.  We have to lean on God that he will always provide.  The thing that keeps us going is God's face and not His hand.  We do our best to have the attitude of Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednigo "Our God will deliver us, but even if He doesn't, we will not bow".  We trust in God to provide for our needs, but even if he doesn't, we will continue to serve Him.  

Thank you God for loving my family so much that you guide us to where you want us to be.  Thank you for not giving in to our selfish wants and providing us with what we need.  Thank you for giving me the most awesome wife in the world who trusts me as the spiritual leader in our house.  Thank you God for giving me children that trust their parents with future changing decisions.  Thank you God for sending your son Jesus to die on the cross as the eternal sacrifice for my sins.  Lead us God and we will follow.

We so often confuse God's voice with the voice in our head.  Sometimes God's voice isn't a voice at all, it's biblical truths, it's honesty, it's integrity.  I challenge you this week to hear God's voice.

I love you and God does too!