The frustrations and struggles of everyday life can take their toll on you and drain you of strength. It’s sad when you don’t even know your strength has been depleted. You’re functioning, but not at optimum power. You sense something is missing, but you just can’t seem to put your finger on it. You know you’ve lost strength when you say things to yourself like, “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t win for losing. Murphy’s Law is the story of my life. Whatever will go wrong does go wrong. No matter how hard I try, I can never get a break. If I could just hit the lottery, everything would be all right.”
I don’t care how much you pray or how much Word you have in you, sooner or later trouble will come knocking at your door. The very fact that you’re anointed means you’ll experience trials and tribulations. Contrary to popular belief, Christians are not exempt from having problems.
Let’s look at King David. He’s an illustration of a modern-day believer. The Bible describes him as a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). Yet, he faced one battle after another. In II Samuel 5:17-25 David had just been anointed King of Israel. When the Philistines heard David was king, they launched an attack on the one God called “a man after his own heart.” But David was a wise warrior. He learned from previous experiences that he couldn’t win the battle in his own strength. When he heard of the Philistine’s plan, he inquired of the Lord. He asked God two questions. First, “Shall I go up to the Philistines?” Then, “Will you deliver them into my hands?”
God told David to go after the Philistines with the promise they would be delivered into his hands. And so it happened just as God promised. But what intrigued me was that a few verses later in the very same chapter the Philistines rose up again. David could have rested in the confidence of his previous victory over the Philistines. But once again he sought God’s direction. This time he received a different set of instructions. It was the same enemy, but God gave him a different battle plan. God told David to go behind the enemy by the mulberry trees and wait until he heard a sound in the tops of the trees. The sound represented God moving ahead of David to defeat the enemy.
Just as David defeated the Philistines only to have them rise up again, there are some things in your life that keep cropping up. If we’re honest, all of us have some things in our lives that we should have been over a long, long time ago. You find yourself dealing with the same issue over and over again. A Philistine is anything that keeps coming back to try to defeat you. Maybe your Philistine is your finances, worry, a chronic condition, a habit or attitude. God works through these things to equip you to defeat your Philistine once and for all.
David’s struggles were the training ground God used to teach David how to fight. In I Samuel 17:36 David’s experience with the lion and the bear prepared him to face and defeat Goliath. As a result, David knew the importance of seeking God and His strength to overcome the trials of life.
Stay tuned next week as we continue our discussion on “A Fixed Fight.”
Until next time…Be blessed!
Rev. Cynthia Jackson
Rev. Cynthia Jackson is the administrator of the Rhema4U Blog and Innovations Ministries Director. Rev. Jackson is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was licensed and ordained under the tutelage of Bishop David G. Evans. She is an associate minister at Bethany Baptist Church located in Lindenwold, New Jersey. Rev. Jackson founded Innovations Ministries in 2001. Innovations Ministries provides dynamic and innovative programs and services for individuals and families dealing with various health-related issues. She is a gifted teacher, preacher, conference speaker and writer. God has anointed Rev. Jackson to be a spiritual midwife with a passion to empower others to birth God's vision for their lives. Rev. Jackson holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Organizational Management from Eastern University, a Master of Science Degree in Health Administration from Saint Joseph's University and a Master of Science Degree in Christian Counseling from Cairn University.
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