Fighting to Win | Elaine Olsen

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 I have written two unpublished manuscripts and countless ramblings from the confines of this makeshift think tank.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)

“ … 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).

Category Archives: Fighting to Win

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

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