Faith and a Sling

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God

In his little book, The Word or The World, Vance Havner wrote, “If you stand on the Word, you do not stand with the world.” That is a powerful statement in light of the challenges a Christ follower faces in life. From national issues like government-sanctioned abortions to personal, private matters like cheating on your income tax, it’s relatively easy to think that we are not accountable for doing the right thing every time.  

Furthermore, it sometimes seems we are stretched to the limit when standing alone with a desire to please God. It reminds me of David in a time when Israel was confronted by a giant obstacle—a real giant [see 1 Samuel 17]. Goliath wasn’t the only obstacle in David’s path. His brothers were an obstacle, questioning his presence in the war zone, and chiding him that he was merely a shepherd boy. Even King Saul was an obstacle, exhorting David that he didn’t have a chance to win a battle with such a formidable enemy. So standing alone, David went into action armed with faith and a sling. By the way, if you’re not familiar with the story, David was victorious!

I’m not suggesting that you will have physical victory in every confrontation you face but I can tell you this, God wants you to be faithful to Him regardless the outcome. Three Hebrew boys said it best when facing their demise in a fiery furnace: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up” [Daniel 3:16-18].

When you face opposition in your desire to please God, arm yourself with “faith and a sling,” and take your stand! 

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6a