David was a man who understood and was bolstered by the power of God. Even as a young man, he knew that no battle was impossible with God on his side. It is this courage that has made his stories famous, with his victory over Goliath in 1st Samuel 17 being the most notable.
Goliath looked at David and saw an easy win. am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks? He taunted in verses 43 and 44. Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds in the air and the beasts of the field!
Goliaths intimidation fell on deaf ears, as David knew where the real power resided, as we read in verses 45 – 47;
Then David said to the Philistine, you come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled. This data Lord will deliver you and my hand, I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and wild beasts of the earth, did all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not say with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, he will give you into our hands.
Throughout his life, David spoke out of his will. When he decided on a course of action, he saw it through – no matter what. His Psalms are full of willful choices to trust God. One need only look at Psalm 27:1 – 6 to get a full sense of the trust in God a spiritual warrior should have:
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked game against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an Army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; the war may rise against me, in this I’ll be confident. One thing I desired of the Lord, that I will seek: that I may dwell in the house the Lord all the days of my life, the bold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. Friend the time of trouble you shall hide me in his pavilion; in the secret place of his tabernacle he shall hide me; he shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of join his tabernacle; Olson, yes, I Sing praises to the Lord.
David was not worried about fights were the odds were stacked against him. He knew that with God, every battle is winnable. He lived a life of fearless trust in God. David wrote Psalm 27 while he lived among the Philistines because of the enmity of Saul. If ever there was a moment to doubt God, that was it. It David, even in his lowest moments, clung to his face that the Lord was in control. While hiding from the insane King Saul, he wrote Psalm 57:7 – my heart is steadfast, oh God, artist steadfast; I will sing and give praise. David knew to put the 1st things 1st; that is, he knew to praise God in the midst of every issue.
We can learn a lot from David steadfast faith in the Majesty of God. In Psalm 9:1 – 2, David made four I will statements that every spiritual warrior must make:
I will praise you, oh Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all your marvelous works. I’ll be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, almost high.
When a Christian breaks through the barrier of their emotions and wills themselves to live out these statements in every circumstance, they become a spiritual warrior. Sometimes the Lord leaves us in a problem until we hate it enough to get rid of it forever. Mostly Christians will get rid of a problem temporarily and and welcome it back later.
David lived from God, not towards him. Therefore his thinking was directed at the problem not the Lord. Similarly, we have the mind of Christ. That means that we are to embrace a way of thinking and believing that is rooted in our lifestyle. We always position ourselves in this manner. Warriors have a certain posture that they adopt towards problems and the enemy. They live the life!
Too many Christians are event driven in their spirituality. The quality of their rejoicing, Thanksgiving, conversation, and prayer with the father runs low in terms of a lifestyle. When things happen they then come to God mostly in fear, to complain, to ask why me? They do not grow in these times because they merely want them to be sorted out so they get back to normal. In this instance normal is another word for mediocrity.
When we treat faith as an event dynamic, we never have enough. Faith is a lifestyle. It is a posture in the goodness of God. It is a position we take before the God of favor. Faith is an assurance in our hearts and minds. Faith is provoked by Majesty. It is rooted in relationship. Faith has a royal perspective because it keeps company with the King.
A royal outlook comes from throne room living. Time spent with God in the course of life means that his way of thinking clothes us in the mindset of heaven. If our lifestyle with God is not relational but formal, then we spend moments with him; and we hope that something rubs off on us in the contact.
David meditated. He loved God with his heart and also with his mind. There are 4 ways to love God, and we must do them all. We love him with our heart, mind, soul, and strength – that is with the centrality of our personality in the inner man of the spirit: with our thinking, wondering, and mindset/approach to life; with our will totally engaged to serve, Stand, and discover; finally, with our physical strength in worship, work, warfare, and actual support for others.
This requires that we live in Christ fully towards the father as a lifestyle. Then when adversity and warfare present themselves, we live in Christ fully from the father. We deal in his mindset. We approach difficulties from a royal perspective. The mind that is in Christ Jesus is fully ours. It is not an adopted one for the circumstance. An adopted situational mindset cannot see enough of the amazing possibilities that are present, because it is mostly intent on problem resolution. A royal mindset thinks of an advantage to be gained beyond the problem itself. It sees a bigger picture. David was always ready to see the whole counsel of God. That is one of the many reasons he was described as a man after God’s heart.
Assignment – is your walk with God truly relational or mostly formal? In adversity do you live towards God or from him? Do you have to get your mind into gear when a problem comes, or does your mindset allow you to anticipate life in a more faith – filled way?
Commission – is it time to readjust the place where you live before God? Develop a lifestyle being in Christ before the father. In your present circumstances what would a royal perspective tell you to do? What should your position and posture be in the throne room? If you are visiting your problem from God what would you tell it? journey your way into a new mindset.