“The Philistines again waged war against Israel.  David went down with his soldiers, and they fought the Philistines, but David became exhausted (2 Sam 21:15).

“How do you relate to David’s experience of exhaustion in battle?  What old giants do you have to face?  And what’s it like when your giants keep coming back?

I am so thankful God chose to tell us David knew about exhaustion in battle!  I need to know others have experienced the weariness of fighting the same old enemy over and over.  The word for exhausted in Hebrew is uwph.  Uwph means ‘to cover, to fly, faint, flee away.’  It is the overwhelming desire to run and hide.

When was the last time you wanted to run and hide?  Few things make us want to flee more than the prospect of fighting an old battle.  The moment an old enemy reappears, we want to run into the nearest forest and never come out.  Have you ever noticed that Satan always chooses just the right time to haunt you through an old enemy?  When you haven’t had enough rest, when things have been emotional and turbulent, when you’ve been swinging from one extreme to the other, when you’re completely vulnerable – that’s when the enemy strikes.

Satan is the counterfeit god of perfect timing.  He’s watching for just the right moment to pull the rug out from under us; but even that rug is under God’s feet.  And God always has victory in mind!  He will never allow Satan to discourage you without a plan to lead you to victory!  We may not always follow Christ to victory, but He’s always leading!  ‘Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him’ (2 Cor 2:14).

One of the most important truths we can apply from David’s ongoing battles with the Philistines is that God will always lead us to victory – but He will lead us His way.

Father, thank you for taking away some of the giants in my life.  But because You’ve instructed me to give thanks in everything (1 Thess 5:18), I must thank You for choosing to leave some of my giants for me to keep dealing with.  Show me Your purposes in allowing repeat struggles to remain in my life, and teach me to be both patient and persistent in battle.”

My word this morning.