Saturday June 7
white knuckles
When I moved near to the big city where I now live, driving on unfamiliar highways made me feel uneasy. Merging into heavy traffic elevated my heart rate. I dreaded becoming boxed in by tractor-trailers and other vehicles. Cars and trucks streamed by me, making me feel that I needed to speed up. During these moments, my knuckles became white as I tensely gripped the steering wheel.
We can adopt the same “white knuckle” response in stressful life situations. We often grit our teeth and depend on our own determination to accomplish a task.
David responded differently to his nerve-wracking encounter with Goliath, however. Because he relied on God rather than himself, he told king Saul, “The LORD who rescued me from [wild animals] will rescue me from this Philistine!” (1 Samuel 17:37). Relying on God, David refused to wear the cumbersome armor Saul offered, and took just five small stones and a sling into battle (1 Samuel 17:40). As David trusted in God, He ignored Goliath’s trash-talking and told the giant, “The LORD will conquer you. . . . This is the LORD’s battle” (1 Samuel 17:46-47).
When the battle began, David didn’t cower and clutch his weapon with white knuckles—“[he] quickly ran out to meet” Goliath (1 Samuel 17:48). David’s courage came from a solid sense of God’s presence and power. In the end, God used David to defeat Goliath. The victory provided a critical message for the Israelites: “The LORD rescues his people” (1 Samuel 17:47).
Today, we have the assurance that we’re God’s people, and He will watch over us in any battle we face (Romans 8:37-39). Instead of approaching daunting situations with fear, we can march out to face them with confidence, knowing that God is on our side (Psalm 118:6). —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
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This is the LORD’s battle (1 Samuel 17:47).
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Read Psalm 91:4-6 to see a picture of God’s powerful, compassionate protection.
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Why do we sometimes doubt God’s presence and power during difficult circumstances? How might fearful situations improve our walk with God?
Neglected-Rejected-Divorced-Restored from parmoore-2845 on GodTube.
