The Fight of Your Life

1 O Lord, how many are my foes!                                                                                                                       Many are rising against me;                                                                                                                                       2 many are saying of my soul,                                                                                                                             there is no salvation for him in God  (Psalm 3:1-2)

I love the drama of the Psalms. There is literally dozens of people out to kill the author at any given time. Reading this in the caffeinated comfort of my favorite chair in a sun drenched coffee shop, it is difficult to put myself in his position. Currently, I do not know of any foe “rising against” me (unless you count middle schoolers, I have dozens of them who wish me harm. Mostly it’s just their unGodly cocktail of hormones and awkwardness that makes them dangerous). Yet as I meditate on this Psalm, I realize that we have more in common with the author than we think. While our foes might not be flesh and bone quietly stewing in the cubicle next to ours regaled in a cheap tie and wrinkled shirt, we have enemies nonetheless.

Scripture warns us that our battles are more often spiritual than fleshly – meaning they are subversive and easy to discredit. The foe of stress or sleeplessness is just as fierce as a dude with a crossbow. It limits our effectiveness and clouds our vision. The battle of our mental state is equally as destructive as any Goliath. In this life we will meet giants, many of them locked within our own minds. Locked inside the cages of our heads and hearts, they destroy us from the inside out, pouncing on the most vulnerable pieces of armor. Notice in verse 2 how they speak to the soul of the author with the most dangerous of delusions “there is no salvation for him in God”. Like a spear to the heart, this thought will usher in your death. James tells us that doubt is like an unreliable boat on an unsteady sea. Tossed around, we lose sight and heart as we confuse grace for coincidence.

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. (Psalm 3:3)

This battle is no longer yours to fight. The Lord protects and defines what man and mind wish to control and manipulate. It is a Godly paradox that we are strongest when we are weakest – that a broken heart is whole when given to our great physician. The Lord will protect and lift, we have to simply allow Him in. The Lord of glory wishes to bring you glory in victory that you can’t fight for and you don’t deserve.

Today, let the victor into your fight. Submit to Him as He ensures your steady win. Your foes don’t stand a chance.