Our Battles

 1 Samuel 8-10; 2 Corinthians 10 

“…as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. Samuel said to all the people, ‘Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.’ Then the people shouted, ‘Long live the king!’”

1 Samuel 10:23, 24

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.”

2 Corinthians 10:3

Like every other nation around them, Israel wanted a strong king to lead them into battle. Saul, a tall, handsome man, fit the description. However, neither their battles nor our spiritual battles today are fought using the weapons and strategies of the world. Paul reminds us that our battle is against spiritual strongholds, arguments, ideas, and pride, which are set up against the knowledge of God. Our call is to take every thought captive to Christ using the weapons of his Word, his name, and his Spirit. As a leader, Saul disappointed God and Israel. (Maybe that’s why his namesake Saul, of the New Testament, changed his name to Paul, which means ‘little’.) Paul knew that his strength was in dependency on the Lord, not on himself.

How are we approaching the spiritual battles in our lives?

“Lord Jesus, you are my strength and Deliverer. I humble myself before you.”