Scripture:
When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble & fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. V2-3
Observation:
It could be easy to read this & think, “Well, I am not in war & turmoil like the Psalmist was, so this doesn’t apply to me.” But man, we miss the Christian life if we don’t realize that we are in war every day.
Or another mistake would be, “I am in war, with all those people who disagree with me or don’t believe or …” But in Ephesians we are told that our war is not against flesh & blood but our spiritual enemy.
The last mistake I see so many make would be to believe that every little bad things is the devil, and he is a strong foe that may get one over on God from time to time.
Application:
Just as David was in war, we are in war. We are in war with our flesh, and the devil and all that works against God & his will. But, just as the Psalmist says here, all of our enemies will fall & stumble. And most importantly, our biggest enemy is our own heart.
The Bible refers to it as wicked above all things. That is the illustration here. Just as David fought real wars, you & I fight our flesh, our heart, that is deceitful each and every day as the enemy uses this flesh to tempt us, to lead us away from our God & our hope in Jesus, our confidence.
But like David, we fight by being confident. We fight by trusting in the God who causes our enemies to stumble & fall. And these enemies are not people, they are not other religions, or political parties. They are within us, they are our sinful desires & nature. They are the enemy and his demons.
But most importantly, we remember to not fear. This enemy within & without is no match to our King Jesus. He will destroy them just as he destroyed the enemies of David. This is a promise. Hold fast to it. Be confident in the Lord.
Prayer:
Give us confidence Lord. Give us the grace to hold fast & to not over spiritualize or give more power to the enemy that he actually has. Give us clarity of mind and theology. Be with us. Fight our enemies. And give us spiritual vigor to fight the most important thing: our flesh in our pursuit of you and holiness.