Reading your Bible for today January 4

January 4: 1 Samuel 17:40-47

KJV Key Verse: 1 Samuel 17:47
47 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.

Devotion:
This continues to be one of the bible stories many like to teach young children and many will tell of the bravery of David for going up before Goliath and even tell you about how he won because God was on his side. But how many have been reminded of the few words in verse 47 “for the battle IS The LORD’s”?

When we are told that God will give us perfect peace, we need to remember those few words because without them, how can we gain comfort when all around us seems to be against us? How are we supposed to have faith in the unseen when everything we see around us is working against us? When we try to do things, we find there are all manner of obstacles in our way to prevent us from doing that. When we try to do good things, we find bad things keep tripping us up. No matter how hard we try, we always seem to lose! Well, just maybe, in those cases we are trying to depend on ourselves and not on God. The battle is His and not ours to win. In fact, He has already won; it’s just that Satan will not give up!

We have a Saviour who has been watching over us and trying to get us to listen for many years. He continues to do things for us and around us so we will realise just how awesome a God He actually is. He continues to guide anyone who will listen. He continues to encourage those who are willing to depend on Him and He will continue to keep everyone who puts their faith and trust in Him. David was a young man who did that; he placed his life in God’s hands knowing he was safe. He knew God had shown him He was with him over the years of being a shepherd, so he continued to have faith in God. He knew God would get the glory and he made sure everyone knew that what was about to happen was his God was fighting for him. If we are willing to show others that the strength and courage we have is because God is on our side, then how can we ever fail?

Points to Ponder:
Have you ever said “my dad’s bigger than your dad”?

God IS bigger than everything!