"For the Battle is the Lord's..."

I had one of those wonderful moments this morning...the kind where something that I've heard many times before suddenly strikes me anew and takes on meaning it hasn't previously had for me, powerful meaning.

"And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands" 1 Samuel 17:47 (KJV).

Like many of us, there are areas in my life in which I am learning to let go, to surrender and to yield control. I've written before about feeling like I am not always sure how to do that. Actually, let me revise that, I'm often not sure how to do that. There are places in my world in which the patterns of control and wrestling are so ingrained that I don't really feel like I have even a conceptual understanding of how to release, or of what yielding would really look like. In truth, when it comes to surrender, sometimes I feel at a loss.

Then I read this passage this morning, and I almost hesitate to write about; I only can pray to do justice to the moment of revelation! In this passage of scripture, David is preparing to fight Goliath, and after being taunted by the giant, young David responds with inspiring and faithful boldness. This verse is part of what he says.

The weaponry may have changed these days. I do not grab a literal sword or shield as I attempt battle each day against the lies and tricks of the devil. I do, however, have my own weapons that I try to grab onto. And some of them are good and sound weapons. The Word. Prayer. Time of simply listening to my Lord. The trouble is, even though I am trying to fight with worthy weapons, I am doing so without being completely mindful of a key fact: the battle is the Lord's.

I admit, I don't often (ever?) go into my daily battle for surrender (an ironic phrase, isn't it?!) conceiving of myself as simply the hands and feet in this battle. Even in the fight against the enemy, for real-estate in my own heart and mind, I am simply someone who can go through the motions; the power is His. The battle is His. I feel sheepish to admit another truth: I often feel like I'm going through motions when it comes to surrendering my own habitual struggles... my self-sufficiency, my self-absorption, my fear, my stubbornness, my impatience and my quest for the approval of mankind.

When it comes to the things that I wrestle with on a perpetual basis, I have approached them like a warrior fighting for a good and worthy King, but I have approached them as if the battle was my own.

Lord, oh precious Lord, please embed deeply in my heart the profound truth that the battle always belongs to You. Not just the victory, not only the power and the vision, but that the battle itself is Yours. My day is not a matter of me versus the evil one, turning to You for strength and courage. This is YOUR battle; I am only to come alongside You and carry out whatever the marching orders of the day may be. Help me to yield even the battle, my King. For the only victory to be found is Yours. I praise Your mighty and powerful name, Lord. You are Holiest of Holies, and the whole earth kneels at Your feet.