The Battle Gods Way

Psalm 18:35 (NKJV)
You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great.

Within Psalm 18 we are shown the trials and difficulties that David faced when God delivered him from the hands of Saul. David shares the many trials that he faced and how God helped him through all of them. He starts out the Psalm by saying that God is his strength and his rock upon which he stands (vs. 2). He then relates the many times that he was afraid and many times that God fought the battle and delivered him from the enemy (vs. 17).

He continues by telling the degree to which God fought for him. David relates that, many times, he walked in God’s ways, he obeyed God and God rewarded him for his righteous deeds (vs. 20). This is why he tells us in today’s verse that God shielded him and was his salvation. God will reward us if we walk according to His word and seek Him with all of our heart. He will bless us with the confidence to combat many enemies at once (vs. 29). He will grant us light in our darkness and help us in all situations (vs. 28).

The ironic fact is that David says that God trained his hands for war (vs. 34), and He armed him for the strength of the battle (vs. 39). These terms sound extremely cruel and very brutal. But God’s ways of fighting are quite the opposite. Today’s verse shows us that we need to use God’s power, not our own, to fight the battle. We need to use gentleness and not brute force in order to fight the battles that come our way.

How does this happen? The key to most battles is humility. James says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up“, (James 4:10, NKJV). When others use cruelty to fight, God says to use gentleness. We tend to want to revenge. Paul writes, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.”, (Romans 12:19, NKJV). If we respond in love and forgiveness it is then that God will deal with them. He may not deal with them in our timing or in our way. We may be hurt and want them to be repaid in the same way that we were hurt. But, if we respond in the way that God desires of us, it is then that He can deal with them in a much more powerful way. We always have to realize that God’s timetable is different from ours. This is when we need to respond in faith and not in feelings.

Thoughts, comments, objections, prayer requests.



Daniel A. Smith