I Samuel 17:45
‘Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and 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 taunted.’
This is our life's creed. In all of life's challenges He is with us. Some of them are too much and in our own strength we would fail. Matthew 10:19 refers to an intimidating situation in which we are interrogated by the powerful. "But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour." Regardless of the situation, He comes through.
David was experienced in God's provision. While shepherding the family sheep, he had to protect them when predators came. These were threatening situations which could have left him dead. His dad probably told him to make noise but not to engage with the deadly ones. David risked his life for them. God gave him the heart and ability of a warrior. God's favor and help was with him. The Lord will equip us for our circumstances.
What about preparation? We should do our best. Some situations come at us in a surprise fashion. David didn't know he would fight Goliath that day. For the situations we are aware of, we should prepare the best we can.
We need not worry. Once we've done our best, we need to commit the situation to God. Matthew 6:26 says, "Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more important than they?" God's got us. We could worry and prepare forever. At some point, we've done enough. We are to have a resting, trusting attitude that He will be with us. It doesn't mean we will win or it will all turn out in our favor. We need to trust Him for the results.
David said, "I come at you in the name of the Lord." We are His and we live for Him. We have this same motto. We should walk out the door with this attitude. It doesn't mean all else are enemies. More like we commit our day to Him. When we do our best, it honors Him.
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart", (Psalm 37:4). This means a couple of things, one is as we follow Christ we get new desires. We start to care about things we didn't use to. We begin to lose interest in things that we used to invest in. This is awesome as we are beginning to become like our father. The second is He fills many of them. As we come and go in the name of the Lord, He fills us. At the outset of our journey, we had no idea. The transformation that He makes in us is amazing. One of the His miracles.
Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." As we follow Christ our lives become His craftsmanship. Just as a painting is valuable because of the painter, so are we. 2 Corinthians 2:15 says, "For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing". As the pressure of life squeezes us, out comes a sweet aroma. We used to curse and be bitter, now we emit the character of Christ.
We come in the name of the Lord, but initially He chose us. Ephesians 1:4 says, "just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love". For this we are forever grateful. I Corinthians 1:26 says, "For consider your calling, brothers and sisters, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble". We weren't of great worth, except to Him. It's as if He chose the lowest.
Thank You, God. You've given us purpose. What an honor to go in the name of the Lord. Thank You for equipping us for the tough times. Hank You that the net result being successful an honoring.