Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
In this year of the lion we are to become people with hearts like a lion. King David is a great example of one of the most lion-hearted men in history. Before he became king, Israel was faced with a national crisis when a nine-foot tall war-like powerful giant called out Israel for a fight to see who would reign over the other. The shepherd boy David was emboldened and empowered to go after Goliath because he had already faced and defeated the lion and the bear (1 Sam. 17:34-36).
Like David we all have or will face these two adversaries alone and out of sight. The one who goes about like a roaring lion seeking to destroy us speaks of the enemy that comes against us, such as personal misfortune, financial loss, physical and emotional suffering, betrayal, etc. The other adversary we must face is the one that is within each of us. That is the bear.
Years ago I had a dream in which I was in the backyard of my boyhood home. I saw my brother lying dead on the ground. He had been mauled by a grizzly bear and the bear was stalking me. I tried to escape, but it caught me. The dream ended with the bear standing upright on his back feet gripping me around the neck and holding me above its head and roaring furiously. The interpretation is obvious. The meaning of my name is bear. My soul was out of control and if I did not deal with this I would destroy those I love and eventually myself. I had to face myself and overcome me. That is what the fruit of the Spirit called self-control is all about.
So we have enemies around us and enemies within. In facing and overcoming these enemies God has prepared us for an even greater enemy and a promotion. That is what God wants to do, promote us, but we must face Goliath. Goliath is not a personal enemy, but a national crisis. In David’s time, Saul, who represented the government had no answer for Goliath. Goliath represents an enemy that can be overcome only by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. I know from the bottom of my heart that we are called to help save our nation. We may be mocked, belittled and ridiculed by some of our brethren for even thinking that God would consider using us nobodies, but as with David there really is a cause now (1 Sam. 17:28-29). The nations including our nation are the inheritance of our Lord (Ps. 2:8).
In David’s time Saul and his son Jonathan were the only Israeli’s who had real weapons of war (1 Sam. 13:19-22). Saul gave his armor to David to fight Goliath, but David could not defeat Goliath with Saul’s armor because it had not been tested in his life. However, David did have a shepherd’s staff and knew how to use a slingshot and that is how he took down Goliath. The staff represents the cross and the slingshot represents the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. The spirit of this age may laugh and mock us because of our stick, the cross, but it is going to take the enemy down (1 Sam. 17:40-45). The wisdom and power of the cross, which includes moves and outpourings of the Holy Spirit, do not look like much of a weapon to the natural eye, but this is the hope for our nation. This is the weapon God has given to us, the exceeding greatness of His power (Eph. 1:19). It is time to use it to help save our nation.
Many Blessings, BW