May 2008 | Elaine Olsen

Fighting to Win (part three): Understanding What’s At Stake

May 10, 2008

“‘And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.’” (1 Samuel 17:18, KJV).

How do thee, my brethren, fare this day? Fare thee well, or fare thee less? However thee fare, thou Father is aware, and his love for thee exceeds thy need. So thus, I invite thee to come and find thy Master’s feet and receive thy portion of his love unto thee.

Please read today’s scripture focus, 1 Samuel 17:14-32, in whatever version thee desireth!

I love the King James rendering of 1 Samuel 17:18. Sometimes the King’s English speaks with a rich eloquence that puts my mind to thinking and my heart to dreaming. David’s story is worthy of a dream or two. It certainly is worth our pondering, for it has much to teach us about the art of war. About the winning and losing of battles. About the gains and losses of confrontation.

For in every fight, something stands to be gained and something stands to be lost. Weighing the difference between the two is of paramount importance when kingdom business is at hand. Not every battle is ours to embrace, but every battle should be weighed in accordance with God’s divine perspective (part one). The enemy understands our propensity for a good fight. He’s perfected the lure and baited his hook with just enough intrigue and drama to engage our thoughts (part two). And if not checked, our thoughts can sometimes lead us into a war that we were never meant to fight.

So how do we know the difference? How do we know when the battle belongs to us and is worthy of our sacred participation? We start by doing just exactly what boy David did.

We listen to our Father.

“Now Jesse said to his son David, ‘Take this … for your brothers. Take along these … to the commanders of their unit. See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.’” (1 Samuel 17:17-19).

David’s earthly father, Jesse, sent David to battle; not to fight but to check on the welfare of his brothers…to see how thy brethren were faring. They were faring poorly. Floundering in their fear, they took to their hiding, and when David was unable to secure the “assurance” that his father was looking for, David altered his plan. No longer would this be a mission of provision, but rather it would become a mission of kingdom priority…a father’s priority.

Assurance. The Hebrew transliterated word rubbah meaning “…a tangible sign of a current or soon-expected reality. It was used specifically in reference to an assurance of well-being brought from the battlefield.”[i]

The only tangible sign of a soon-expected reality was a stance of fear and dismay. And where there is fear…where there is dismay…the soon-expected reality is sure defeat. Thus David, rather than returning home without any pledge or assurance for his father, pushed the matter to a head. He postured himself for participation in the battle because David knew that…

Sometimes, one is called to battle because the welfare of the brethren is at stake.

David’s brethren? The Israelites. God’s flock. The sheep of his sacred pasture. The apple of his eye. They were the children of Promise, barely living within the pasturelands of Promise. Milk and honey were yesterday’s taste. Today’s palate was limited to a faithless trembling that swallowed difficult and soured the stomach.

The hearts of a nation laid themselves bare for the taking, and David was quick to recognize their nakedness.

“David asked the men standing near him, ‘What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?’ … ‘Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.’” (1 Samuel 17:26, 32).

David entered the arena as a shepherd boy, the son of Jesse. But in one transforming moment, David refined his identity. He would retain his role as shepherd, but this time, as the son of his heavenly Father. Not only were the brethren not faring well, but the identity of his Father’s people stood to know fracture and disgrace at the hands of the enemy. David postured himself for participation in the battle because David knew that…

Sometimes, one is called to battle because the honor of a Father is at stake.

There you have it. Two good reasons to enter a battle with the enemy.

A brethren’s welfare. A heavenly Father’s honor.

There are other worthy reasons to find our fight, but these two offer us some perspective in the matter. David had no way of knowing what lie ahead for him as he loaded his father’s grain and bread and cheeses into his pack. He only knew that he had to go for the sake of his father’s assurance…for a tangible sign of a soon-expected reality. A reality that would eventually shout victory because his heavenly Father’s assurance went with him.

It, too, goes with us this day. You need to know this, for many of you are facing a battle of untold proportions. You are weighing the matter out upon the soil of your faith…hoping for a win but, perhaps, expecting a loss. You may be fighting for the welfare of the brethren…for your brothers and sisters. For your sons and daughters. For your family and for your church. You may be fighting for the honor of your Father. For his name. For his renown. For his truth and for his Word.

It is good to understand what leads us into battle, and as a woman who loves her brethren and who loves her God, I will always find my fight on behalf of them both. And so I ask you again…

How do thee, my brethren, fare this day? Fare thee well or fare thee less, you have a friend in me. You fight not alone. You fight with an ally who is privileged to enter the battle alongside you. Together, we will march in victory with our Father at the lead until he ushers us from this battlefield into our forever field. A spacious place of milk and honey. An easy swallow for eternity and well beyond. And so I pray…

“Lead on O king Eternal, The day of march has come;
Henceforth in fields of conquest, Thy tents shall be our home.
Thro’ days of preparation, Thy grace has made us strong,
And now O King Eternal, We lift our battle song.

Lead on O king Eternal, Till sin’s fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper, the sweet Amen of peace.
For not with swords loud clashing, Nor roll of stirring drums,
With deeds of love and mercy, The heav’nly kingdom comes.

Lead on O King eternal, We follow not with fears,
For gladness breaks like morning, Where’er Thy face appears.
Thy cross is lifted o’er us, We journey in its light;
The crown awaits the conquest: Lead on, O God of might.”[ii]

Amen.

As always,

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Please feel free to leave a comment. At the end of our study, I will enter all comments into a drawing for a give-away. If you have a special prayer request, please indicate within your comment or via my e-mail on the side-bar. You give me much joy, my blogging friends. God be close to you this weekend.

[i]Baker & Carpenter, “rubbah,” The Complete Word Study Dictionary Old Testament (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2003), 6156.
[ii] Ernest Shurtleff, “Lead On, O King Eternal,” Then Sings My Soul Book 2 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004), 202-203.

(allrightsreserved, elaineolsen – 2008)

Fighting to Win (part two): Recognizing the Enemy’s Schemes

May 7, 2008

Here’s what I want you to know as we begin our time together in the study of God’s Word. I am just a girl who wants to know God and who wants to lead others to do the same. I’m not a biblical scholar, nor do I have a high propensity for retention. My daily walk with my Father is exactly that…a daily walk—an obedient pursuit of the God who holds my deep affection. I love to ponder him. I love to study his Word, and at a very early age, I discovered my love and capacity for writing. Put all that together and you get this…

A blogging look at Jesus and his magnificent story.

Before I write one word, I pour over his Word via the desk I have made out of my bed. I live a crowded life. There is no room for an office. I have written two unpublished manuscripts and countless ramblings from the confines of this makeshift think tank. There is nothing polished about my approach to any of this. If there is a polish to my words, then they shine because Jesus has seen fit to blow his breath across their surface.

Why do I tell you all this? Because I want you to know that God’s presence is as available to you as it is to me…as it was to the saints and scholars of biblical yesterdays…as it is to the Billy Graham’s and Beth Moore’s of our today. The same Spirit that rests within them is the same Spirit that resides within us as believers in Jesus Christ. We have the capacity to know and understand the only God who can be known (Jer. 9:23-24). It is his promise to us, and if God longs to reveal his secrets to me (1 Cor. 4:1), then I want to hover within earshot for the listening…for the receiving…for the transformation.

I think you want the same or you wouldn’t be here, and I need you to know that I take your being here very seriously. I have printed out your comments, and I have prayed over your hearts this morning. Not because it is the right and religious thing to do, but because it is my privilege as a child of God to do so. I want my little corner of the world—my tiny confinement within the four walls of this bedroom—to exceed its parameters for God’s kingdom agenda. It is all that I know to do this day. It is what I have been given, and somehow, even now, it seems huge…more than enough…just exactly what my Father would have me to be doing.

That being said (and I realize that you’re nearly worn out with the saying…), let us get to our “doing.” Take a few moments to read our scripture focus for this, our second look into the life of the shepherd boy, David, who has much to teach us about Fighting to Win.

Please read 1 Samuel 17:1-28 (aloud if possible), paying close attention to the many schemes that the enemy employs against God’s people. This will be our focus today.

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“Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh in Judah.” (1 Samuel 17:1).

Kingdom perspective (part one) should always precede kingdom work because kingdom work is not only God’s prioritized agenda, but it also holds priority with the enemy. Whenever kingdom business is on the table, a battle brews just beneath. It may not always flesh itself out within the literal realm, but it most assuredly fleshes itself out within the internal realm…the spiritual realm…where battles are often won or lost in quick order.

When God musters his saints for his agenda, Satan gathers his forces to thwart that agenda. Every time. Take it to the bank. There is nothing new about his schemes, but the masking? Well, that is his specialty, for he is the author of lies and liars have perfected the art of cover up.

He tried his schemes with boy David, and if we read the story as we always have, we will miss it. We will focus on the usual—the giant and the sling and the swift victory. Good things…perhaps the best things about this story. But if we miss the schemes of the enemy, then we miss a great opportunity for application in our own lives. Satan desires for us to skip over this portion of the story…to remain ignorant about his wily ways. Why?

Because the enemy understands that if we become wise to his schemes, the battle will be hard fought. And our enemy isn’t into hard. He’s after easy, and his greatest hope for an easy victory harbors within those moments that precede direct contact. He targets our perspective…our kingdom calling…because he knows that skewed perspective births a wavering faith that falls prey to surrender, even before one sword is drawn. (Remember my son?).

So let us pause to consider his multiple maskings of an old agenda that hasn’t changed since the days of the garden. Let us diffuse its mystery and get on to the victory that is ours through Christ Jesus.

The enemy…

Knows where to position himself for the battle…a place where he can best be seen and heard (1 Sam. 17:1-3). In David’s story, he found a hillside opposite his opponent. He didn’t cower behind his troops or cloak his presence with darkness. He assumed his position in the light of the day. He postured himself for a frontal assault. As it was with David, so it is with us.

The enemy…

Understands that sometimes a valley stands as an obstacle to our victory (1 Samuel 17:3). And we are not a people prone to valley walking. How often do we forsake God’s victory in our lives because our preferences lead us elsewhere? Valleys are deep and a sometimes, treacherous embrace. But to know victory, it is often a required grasp. As it was with David, so it is with us.

The enemy…

Always chooses his best to do his bidding. A champion named Goliath (1 Samuel 17:4). Your “giant” is well chosen by the enemy. His name may be different, but he is crafted with you in mind…a nine-foot lot of big! Satan is well aware of your Achilles’ heel. He has spent your entire lifetime watching you, and while your Goliath may not be mine, you can be sure they come from the same family. As it was with David, so it is with us.

The enemy…

Dresses to impress (1 Samuel 17:5-6). Cloaked in burnished bronze, Goliath’s appearance was striking. Imposing. Enticing. Almost worthy of beholding. Almost. How often do we know defeat because we are fooled by our enemy’s appearance? As it was with David, so it is with us.

The enemy…

Arms himself with heavy artillery (1 Samuel 17:6-7). A javelin. A spear. A well-defined point. A shield to walk ahead. The enemy comes well-armored to the battle, and rarely does he come alone. As it was with David, so it is with us.

The enemy…

Taunts with partial truth (1 Samuel 17:8-10). “‘Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine and are you not the servants of Saul?’” The enemy voices just enough truth to draw us into a fight, but he stops short of full disclosure, for he knows with full disclosure, we will remember our perspective–the perspective that reminds us we are not the servant’s of any man. Rather, we are the servants of the Most High God, and with this perspective, our enemy falls prey to defeat. As it was with David, so it is with us.

The enemy…

Limits his prey to “one” with the hope of enslaving the “many” (1 Samuel 17:8-10). Goliath proffered his challenge to a single man, knowing that a nation’s slavery stood to be gained with David’s defeat. By defeating one, the enemy would secure a kingdom as plunder. As it was with David, so it is with us.

The enemy…

Commits to the battle with long-term perspective. (1 Samuel 17:16). His endurance is long. Relentless and daunting. For forty days and beyond. As it was with David, so it is with us.

The enemy…

Loves an inside job (1 Samuel 17:28). If he can’t wear us out with all his other schemes, he often uses those who surround our lives…those who know us best…to limit our perspective and to focus our attention elsewhere. As it was with David, so it is with us.

There you have it. Nine schemes of the enemy as scripted upon the hillside of Judea within a day that might as well be today. Perhaps your pondering has led you to discover more. Not a lot has changed over the course of time…just the masking. The same enemy who was alive and prowling about in David’s era is the same enemy who prowls about within our generation, seeking his prey…still hungry to devour. Today, we have unearthed some of the timeless strategies that he employs for the feeding.

Let it not be from your flesh. Let it not be from mine, and so I pray…

Keep me safe, Lord, from the schemes of the enemy. Give me the eyes to see and the wisdom to recognize their approach within my heart…within my mind…within my everyday. You have given me everything I need to diffuse their strength, for you are the same…yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The You that was living within your servant David, is the You that is living within me now. How long and how loving is your reach from there to here…from then to now. Let me rest in your arms with the full assurance that victory is ours. You are my very good shepherd, and I am lost forever within your embrace. Amen.

How is God speaking to your heart this day in regards to the enemy’s schemes? Can you find yourself within the story…within the schemes? Please leave your comments below (remember the give-away). Let us pray for one another. Let us take seriously this walk that we have been given. Let us spur one another along, encouraging each other in word, in thought, and in deed so that our Father looks on with approval, as our enemy cowers in the corner with disdain. Let us find our fight and get on with doing! As always,

(allrightsreserved, elaineolsen – 2008)

Fighting to Win (part one): Getting the Right Perspective

May 5, 2008

“ … He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, ‘Rise and anoint him; he is the one.’ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. … ” (1 Samuel 16:12-13).

“Mom…can you guess what Bible story I am pretending?”

After surveying his armor, along with the surrounding scene, it didn’t take me long. Perhaps you already know by looking at the picture. But if you don’t look closely, you’ll miss the reason behind this post…behind my desire for a closer examination of this story through a series of posts.

There, in the left front corner of the picture is a small soldier, lying on the ground in defeat. My son, playing the role of Goliath, had difficulty keeping his battle companion upright. David lay surrendered at the feet of my child’s imagination. And while the picture doesn’t rightly represent the real truth of Scripture, I am afraid it all too often represents the reality of how we choose to fight our Goliaths.

We posture ourselves for defeat.

Rather than stand for the battle, we surrender our backs for the piercing of the enemy’s sword. The wounding he brings cuts through the fabric of God’s divine intention, causing us to bleed a red that was never ours to bleed. Instead of claiming the victory that belongs to us through Christ Jesus, we bury our sacred identity and allow the enemy his “two cents” in the matter—a scripting that was never his to write.

Defeated. Loser. Sinner. Condemned. Unworthy. Unloved. Least of the least. Worst of the worst. Forgotten. Done. Finished.

Kingdom perspective is lost with such labeling. When we allow the enemy to name us, we forget the scripting of our God who calls us by a different name. A better name. A true identity, not based on a two-cents kind of hatred, but rather on a measureless, costly love that bled from intention and writes our name with its ink.

Child. Bride. Forgiven. Loved. Prized. Called. Filled. Heir. New. Eternal.

It is a hard perspective to keep when the enemy begins his assault on our hearts and minds. It is the right perspective, but it is a difficult holding. And what is not held in earnest, is prey to a fallen surrender that tills as fresh soil beneath the enemy’s feet.

King David kept kingdom perspective throughout his life. There were seasons of limited vision, but through them all, David always came back around to the perspective of his Father. He knew that he belonged to the bigger picture. David understood his place within that picture, and most importantly, he never lost sight of the Painter who graciously ordained him to walk within its frame.

David took hold of the one thing for which Covenant God took hold of him. David took hold of his calling…his God-determined kingship. His anointing by Samuel was a point of reference for him in all the days that would follow…for all of the uphill battles he would wage to find his crown and to receive his throne.

Before David would gird a sword around his waist, David’s heart would know the girding of a sacred identity. The truth of who he was came through the commissioning of Yahweh who scripted him with his powerful Spirit and shaped him to shepherd his flock, Israel.

David has a great deal to teach us about the aspects of battle…about fighting a war where the outcome is never in doubt. We could look at his entire life’s span as our teacher, but we will narrow our focus to one story. One you are familiar with, but perhaps, one you need to filter through fresh perspective. It is a story with more than enough intrigue and drama to capture the heart of a seven-year-old boy who has a lot of fight in him and who, most days, stands ready to wield his sword in strong defense.

I imagine that our journeys can boast the same, for we are a people of drama and intrigue. As long as our flesh inhabits this earth …this is exactly how long the enemy stands at the ready to engage us in battle. Like my son, we have got to find our fight. We must find our feet and stand ready for the battle with the sure and sacred identity that God has scripted within each one of us as his children.

We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, so that we may declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once, we were not a people, but now we are the people of God; once we have not received mercy, but now we have received it…in abundance. (1 Peter 2:9-10). Thus, we have our perspective for the road ahead.

Kingdom perspective, my friends. Kingdom anointing. Yours and mine. The same Spirit that came in power and filled the heart of a shepherd boy is the same Spirit that comes to us and cloaks us with the power and strength of the living LORD as we believe on Him (John 14). Yahweh. Covenant God.

We are not left to war the enemy through our own defenses. We are left with the presence of Almighty God to wage the war on our behalf. And when we get that…when we really take hold of our Father’s sacred perspective…giants tumble. Kingdoms fall, and we find our crown and our throne within his painted masterpiece called Forever.

Today is the day to stand up and to find our fight, and so I pray…

Take my wounded spirit and clothe it with your Spirit from on high, LORD. Remind me of my calling…of my anointing that came, like David’s, at an early age. Let me find the fight of my youthful faith…before it was tainted by life and by the enemy’s attempts to re-script my identity. Forgive me when I see myself as anything less than what you’ve called me to be. I am your child, and you are my great BIG DADDY! Remind me of your presence on the battlefield of my current. Keep me holding to your perspective…the one truth that claims the victory before the battle begins. And let me find my feet, Lord. Raise me up in strong defense of all that you are…of all that you have called me to be. Amen.

Take some time today to familiarize yourself with David’s story by reading 1 Samuel 16. What part of David’s commissioning resonates within your spirit? How was God preparing David, even at his young age, to take his place as God’s chosen leader for Israel? How is God preparing you to do the same?

Over the next few posts, I will examine the story of David and Goliath to glean some truth that will help us in fighting the enemy whose sole objective is to steal, to kill, and to destroy our lives (John 10:10). Please leave comments along the way. At the end of our study I will select a name from all of the comments for a special give away. If you don’t have a blogger account, you can sign in as an anonymous contributor. I look forward to sharing this time with you! As always,

(allrightsreserved, elaineolsen, 2008).

A Toast to Vintage

May 2, 2008

“‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. … This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.’” (John 15:5, 8).

They arrived this week. Packaged with care and wrapped in love. My vintage treasures.

from Liz at Kentucky Bound

A tea cup, a handkerchief, some lace, and embroidered linen. A decorative pin, a sewing basket, some needles, and some thread. A CD, a book, some candles and some tea. Old and new treasures given to me because the luck of the draw landed in my favor.

I’ve never received such a gift. Partly because of the giver—someone I have never met face to face but someone who is growing dearer to me with each blogging encounter—and partly, because of the gift’s contents. Somebody’s “old” became this girl’s “new”, and I am moved by the gesture. Not because it is the right and polite way to react but because there is something wonderfully significant attached to the owning of another’s treasure from, perhaps, another era in history.

The gifts that arrived on my doorstep used to belong to someone…used to matter to someone. Now they belong to me, and I am free to do with them as I please. And right now what pleases me most is the contemplation of their worth…of their vintage significance. Not with a dollars and cents kind of worth, but with a value that extends beyond an earthly understanding.

Vintage. A word that means…

“(1) the wine from a certain crop of grapes;(2) a year’s crop of grapes; (3) the season of gathering grapes and making wine; (4) outstanding quality, choice; (5) type of thing fashionable or popular during an earlier season.”[i]

And while definition #5 seems to define the treasure in question, I am struck by the originating definition of word which is represented in the other four definitions—the choice wine from a certain crop of grapes grown in season within a particular year, and usually sown within the soil of a selected vineyard.[ii]

With vintage comes specificity. Selective choice. Particular taste.

With vintage comes a seasoned approach to the cultivation of grapes, therefore leading to the production of a wine that is meant to be savored in seasons yet to come.

And while my vintage treasure doesn’t boast a bottle of fine wine, I see the connection between the two. My gifts are the treasures from a season past. Treasures that have grown more precious and, perhaps, more valuable as time has turned its clock. Ask the original owners of said treasures and they would most likely respond with something along the lines of…

I remember when my husband gave me that pin on our wedding anniversary. That sewing basket sat beside my bed. The lace once adorned my dresser. That embroidery? I needled that when I was ten. And that tea cup? Let me tell you about some of the conversations and prayers I had over that cup of seasoned brew.

Indeed, my vintage treasures hold some value. Not from a financial perspective, but from a seasoned perspective. They were first cultivated within the soil of someone’s past, and now they have made their way to the table of my current. I will savor their flavor for a season, and then, perhaps, pass them along for a savoring yet to come.

This is the simple joy of a vintage treasure. It retains its flavor beyond the era in which it was birthed.

Two thousands years ago, a Vine grew upon the soil of Calvary’s vineyard, the branches of which continue to bear fruit. You and I…we are those branches alongside countless others who have grafted their hearts within the Vine’s embrace. We are cultivated for vintage. For the pressing through and for the pouring forth of a choice Wine whose flavor is meant to be savored for all eternity.

Not all will partake. There are those who will sniff around its edges and deem His bouquet too potent…too aromatically displeasing to the smell. Their smells are otherwise inclined…bent toward a sweeter swallow. They forsake a drink of the Vintage for the drunken folly of fools, chasing after the immediate rather than pausing to savor the timeless. They refuse to consider his value because his value is cloaked in old…in yesterday…in a history meant for containment—for an era long gone and since forgotten. Or so they reason.

But this is the simple joy of a vintage treasure…God’s treasure. He has retained his flavor beyond the era in which he was birthed.

His is a continuing savor, grown in season—past, present, and future. His Vine never boasts empty and his cup never runs dry. If we, as his branches, refuse his cultivation, there comes along another to pour forth his cup. Jesus will never be fruitless because his wine poured eternal on the day that he hung within God’s selected vineyard and bled on our behalf. He was meant for the pressing through and for the pouring forth, and this day I am drunk with gratitude for the gift of God’s costly vintage.

Jesus Christ is the finest wine I have ever tasted, and so I pray…

Fill me Father, with the treasure of your Son. Graft me within the Vineyard’s embrace and grow me with specificity. And when harvest season arrives, pour me forth as a drink offering upon the soil of my current. Fill my cup to overflow so that a taste of your eternal spills forth into the hearts of men and women who long for a drink of something lasting…something treasured…something vintage. You have transcended the embrace of history to find your place at my table this day. You have become the savor of this girl’s heart. Humbly and with the deepest of gratitude, I receive my portioned cup. Amen.

[i] Thorndike & Barnhard, “vintage,” Scott, Foresman Intermediate Dictionary (Garden City: Doubleday & Company, 1979), 1014.
[ii] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vintage

Monthly Archives: May 2008