A glimmering of thought

The Battle Belongs to the Lord

“‘The battle belongs to the Lord” (1 Samuel 17:47 MEV). When everyone stared at Goliath, David never gave him the time of day. David found a source of strength into which he could tap. The right thoughts led to the right reaction.

No one needs to tell you giants roam this world. No one needs to tell you this life is a battle. But maybe someone needs to remind you the battle belongs to the Lord. You never fight alone. You never fight solo. You never face a challenge without the backup of God Almighty. God is with you as you face your giant. With you as you are wheeled into surgery. With you as you enter the cemetery. With you, always. Silence the voice that says, “The challenge is too great.” And welcome God’s voice that reminds, “The battle belongs to the Lord.”

Read more Tame Your Thoughts: Three Tools to Renew Your Mind and Transform Your Life

Psalm 130:3-6 – If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

The psalmist asks a serious and frightening question: “If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” We may be worried about that, too. If God kept track of our sins, how would we ever be able to stand before Him? There are many lists of sins in Scripture. While these lists do not name anyone personally, the sins are very familiar. These are sins we have committed. Jesus describes the evil that flows out of human hearts, including evil thoughts, murder, adultery, theft, and false witness (see Matthew 15:19). The apostle Paul provides a long list of unrighteous behaviors that are common among all people. These sins include gossip, slander, boasting, envy, murder, and strife (see Romans 1:29-32). The apostle makes it clear that everyone is guilty of such things. Paul also lists the “works of the flesh.” We recognize these sins within ourselves, things such as sexual immorality, idolatry, sorcery, jealousy, enmity, and drunkenness (see Galatians 5:19-21).

Yet the psalmist is not without hope as he considers the possibility of a list of sins. He has one word that stands firmly against every list of iniquities. That single word is forgiveness, and in that one word he finds hope in the Lord: “But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared.” The Lord is to be feared, that is, regarded and worshiped with reverent awe and respect, not because He keeps a long record of our sins, but because … He forgives.

The psalmist waits in prayer and in hope, and so do we. With repentant honesty we must admit that many of the sins on those lists are found in our lives. The lists strike close to home as they describe our disobedience of God’s commands. But we have seen the hope and promise of forgiveness fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The terrible and very personal list of our sins, “the record of debt that stood against us,” has been forgiven. (See Colossians 2:14.) That record of sin was nailed to the cross of Jesus as He took the sins of the world onto Himself. He suffered the penalty of death that we deserved. The list of sins that once stood against us has been canceled and crossed out. Jesus paid the price and, through faith in His Name, we are forgiven and free. That is the promise of God’s Word, and we join the psalmist to say with relief and joy, “In His Word I hope!” 

WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, You died for me so that my sins are forgiven. I have hope in Your Word. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.

This devotion pairs with this weekend’s Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lhm.org.

Numbers 20:12-13 – And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in Me, to uphold Me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them He showed Himself holy.

I’ve got a leather bag that my family gave me as a gift. The leather isn’t imitation, it’s full grain, held together with high-quality stitching and steel rivets. It’s made this way so it’ll get better with wear. The company that makes it promises a 100-year warranty. They say, “Your kids will fight over it when you’re dead.” I’ve had mine for seven years now, so, it’s got at least 93 more to go.

It’s just starting to wear in.

Moses, however, is worn out. He’s been at it around 120 years now. And he is worse for the wear. He’s coming apart at the seams. Maybe the consequence seems harsh. God has him run a 40-year marathon and now He won’t let him finish, all for a little mistake? But Moses is held to a higher standard. He’s supposed to represent God to the people. There must be higher standards for those who represent God, because God is holy.

God’s holiness is His power to make high-quality work, craftmanship that lasts. God has exacting standards, because any other way, it won’t wear in. It’ll wear out. The standard is higher for Moses and Aaron and for anyone called to represent God as the image of God, which is you, by the way, and me. So, Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it. Seems like a small thing, like eating from the one fruit tree God told you not to eat from. It seems like a small thing, not to trust God’s Word. But if you don’t trust God, you’ll fear, love, and trust something else. And that becomes your god. And from those little imitation gods, every evil comes. The universe doesn’t work right, anymore. And we wear ourselves out.

God has high standards because He wants His work to last, to get better for wear. But God’s standard isn’t a quality-control checklist. God’s standard is love—self-giving, sacrificial love.

The standard isn’t a list, it’s the heart of God—the God who doesn’t just hold His people to a high standard, but holds them, even when they don’t measure up. Moses fails here, but eventually he made it into the Promised Land, remember? When he showed up with Elijah on the mountain, hanging alongside the Holy One whose face shined with the radiance of God—that was the Promised Land (see Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9). Moses got to come along for the ride after all, because Jesus held God’s standard for us. He gave Himself on the cross to raise us up into the heart of God.

That leather bag my family gave me—I’ve carried it all over the country. People often comment on it, there, hanging on my shoulder. “I love your bag,” they say. The quality catches their eye. It’s not me wearing the bag, actually. The bag is wearing me. I’m just along for the ride.

WE PRAY: Dear Jesus, thank You for wearing me in to the standard of Your Father’s love. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, Speaker for The Lutheran Hour.

Note to readers: This is an alternate reading from the Three Year Lectionary, and may not match up with the readings your church uses this Sunday.

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 – For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing. … At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Paul is looking back over the years he has served Jesus, and he is content. He knows that soon he will die—executed for Jesus’ sake. While we can’t say he’s happy with that outcome personally, he considers it a worthwhile sacrifice—something like the ancient custom of pouring out wine at the same time as a person sacrificed an animal on God’s altar. In Paul’s mind, the true sacrifice is the faith and love of the churches he has been able to plant for Jesus during the years of His service; and his own life is the drink offering that goes along with that much greater gift.

The older I get, the more inclined I am to look backward and take stock of what I’ve been able to accomplish for the Lord who loved me and gave Himself for me. Perhaps you do this, too. Because we love Jesus, who willingly suffered and died to make us children of God; and because He rose from the dead, we have Him forever, and we know we will never be separated from Him. And so in love, we do what we can to serve Him—to thank the One who loves us so much.

As I look back, I see a checkered history, some of it good and some of it not so good. Paul did, too. After all, he had been a persecutor of the church! But he is content to let Jesus cover His former sins with His own blood, and take what we’ve done and make it better—something He can use and rejoice in. Because we all know that whatever good we’ve done has been done in the Holy Spirit. If it is not from Him, it is worthless.

What about you? What things do you look back on for the Savior you love? What has He forgiven you? What has He blessed you with, by doing something good through you?

WE PRAY: Dear Jesus, You know my life. Forgive what is bad, and bless what is good, and take all of it into Your hands. I am Yours forever, because You bought me with Your own life. Thank You. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.