Game Changer
We live in contentious times where it’s tempting to see other people as the source of our problems. Indeed, the threats are often very real, but unless we are wise regarding how we handle such situations, we add to the problem. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that we are not battling flesh and blood people, but demonic spirits working through people. The alarming fact is that anyone, unbeliever or Christ-follower, can be used by the kingdom of darkness. Peter stated it clearly: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
David had his share of enemies, including King Saul who was trying to kill David before he could become Israel’s king. While he was running for his life, David wrote Psalm 18, expressing the truth of Who he knew God to be.
“I love you, LORD, my strength.
2The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
and I have been saved from my enemies.”
God’s watch-care over David is the same for us today with one possible difference. David totally believed these words. Do we see God as our Strength, Protector, Deliverer, our safe place? If we truly did, we would be less likely to take matters into our own hands, defending ourselves and/or going on the offensive. In fact, we inadvertently participate with the enemy when we succumb to either, as it promotes self-righteousness, self-justification, and self-preservation. The glaring commonality is self.
David denied himself in making the Lord his refuge and stronghold, establishing God as His abiding place. This was a position of trust that assured David that God was with him wherever he went, and more, that God would fight his battles. The most famous illustration was the stone hurled from David’s sling that miraculously found the exact spot on the forehead of a fully armored giant, bringing him to the ground dead. But God was also actively involved when David chose not to kill Saul in self-defense, but to allow God to handle it. More than once God worked to convict Saul of his wickedness in attempting to kill an innocent man, resulting in Saul’s temporary repentance and retreat.
What if we trusted God to work on our behalf when we are accused, maligned, threatened, or wronged? Think of Jesus as our Defender literally walking with us in perilous situations, meeting the enemy head-on. In the confrontation, Jesus directs us to fall to the ground while He remains standing. The enemy who has already suffered defeat through Jesus’ death and resurrection, makes a hasty retreat. This amazing outcome occurs when we trust the Lord enough to obey His instructions, even though it could appear we are participating in our doom.
Evidence of this truth is seen throughout scripture, from Esther putting her life in jeopardy by approaching the king without permission to plead for Jewish lives, to Peter and John speaking the Truth of Jesus before the same Sanhedrim who condemned Jesus to death. Practicing ruthless trust is the game-changer that allows us to remain in the abiding place which is characterized by peace that surpasses understanding. There is zero accommodation for contentiousness. Cast aside, contentiousness now works its own destruction, even as Haman, the enemy of the Jews, was hanged on his own gallows (Esther 7:9-10). Ruthless trust presents us with the opportunity to be game-changers when we, like David, practice denying ourselves.