A Different Type of Weapon

For anyone who leads worship or plays on a worship team, there is a rather ominous verse in Chronicles, which tells of the musicians being the first in the procession marching into battle.

^{NLT.2.Chronicles.20.20} Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”

²¹ After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:

“Give thanks to the Lord;
    his faithful love endures forever!”

Not exactly what you signed up for in your guitar or vocal audition? Don’t diminish what your voice or instrument can accomplish. David’s music had a powerful effect on Saul:

^{CEV.1.Samuel.16.14} The Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord was terrifying him. ¹⁵ “It’s an evil spirit from God that’s frightening you,” Saul’s officials told him. ¹⁶ “Your Majesty, let us go and look for someone who is good at playing the harp. He can play for you whenever the evil spirit from God bothers you, and you’ll feel better.”

¹⁷ “All right,” Saul answered. “Find me someone who is good at playing the harp and bring him here.”

¹⁸ “A man named Jesse who lives in Bethlehem has a son who can play the harp,” one official said. “He’s a brave warrior, he’s good-looking, he can speak well, and the Lord is with him.”

¹⁹ Saul sent a message to Jesse: “Tell your son David to leave your sheep and come here to me.”

²⁰ Jesse loaded a donkey with bread and a goatskin full of wine, then he told David to take the donkey and a young goat to Saul. ²¹ David went to Saul and started working for him. Saul liked him so much that he put David in charge of carrying his weapons. ²² Not long after this, Saul sent another message to Jesse: “I really like David. Please let him stay with me.”

²³ Whenever the evil spirit from God bothered Saul, David would play his harp. Saul would relax and feel better, and the evil spirit would go away.

I thought of this passage today when I saw this blog post by Dana Jarvis at the site His Kingdom Prophecy. Clicking the header below will take you there, where the work of over 80 authors is featured. This is beautifully written.

The Spear and The Harp

The hand of Saul is on The Spear, and the hand of David is on The Harp. Who has the upper hand?

If the hand of Saul is on The Spear and the hand of David is on The Harp, it would seem The Spear would be more victorious.

One hand on The Spear and one hand on the strings. How did David get out of that?

There was another hand in the room! The Hand of God is on your life?

The Hand of God was on David. The Hand of God grabbed The Spear of Saul and said, “Not him. Not now! This is My beloved one!”

Keep your hand on The Harp, and God will put his hand on The Spear.

He won’t let it take you out! He will not suffer your foot to be moved.

The LORD which keepeth thee, He will not slumber nor sleep, David had an instrument and Saul had a weapon, but your worship is a weapon.

Maybe David knew, “If I keep my hand on The Harp, if I let God fight my battles, I cannot be defeated”. “God….”

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. I don’t have The Spear in my hands. I still have the winning hand, and when I clap my hands my Praise confuses the enemy.

When I shout, it is a hiss to the enemy of our souls!

When I lift my hands in Worship, The Hand of God is on it.

The same hand that had plucked him from the sheep field and the same hand that had delivered him from lions and bears and Goliath and the same hand that held the flask that poured the oil…

The hand of God was on his life, and Saul cannot kill what God has crowned!!

God’s Hand is on the situation. You don’t fight for Victory — but from Victory!

If You’re Not Sorry, You’re Not Forgiven

Bring your confessions, and return to the LORD. Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises.
 – Hosea 14:2 NLT

Once again we’re back at the blog, Broken Believers, only this time, instead of hearing from Bryan, we have an article for you from Linda Kruschke. There are some excellent, very transparent devotional articles at this site, and you’re encouraged to click the title which follows to explore more.

Sorry, Not Sorry

Have you ever heard someone say those words? “Sorry, not sorry.” It’s kind of annoying. It’s said following a statement or action the speaker knows is unkind or won’t be appreciated by someone else, but they just don’t care. It’s worse than not saying sorry at all.

We humans have a terrible time admitting when we are in the wrong. There’s always some justification for our actions, often that we were wronged first, or we had no choice, or some such nonsense. Misunderstandings escalate into disagreements, which quickly become heated arguments, and nobody really wins in the end. Sometimes good friends end up enemies, all because no one will say those two simple, yet truly difficult, words: “I’m sorry.”

The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
 – Psalm 51:17

We sometimes have the same problem with God. We know we have not acted as we should, but we can’t let go of pride and say we are sorry. Scripture reveals the truth: a contrite heart is all God wants from us. He desires for us to admit when we’ve missed the mark.

The stories of King David and King Saul illustrate this principle. Both were in the wrong. David committed adultery, and then had the husband of the woman he slept with sent to the front lines of a battle, knowing he would be killed. But when the prophet Nathan brought David’s transgressions to his attention, David’s response was a remorseful attitude. He immediately fell to his knees and confessed his sin. And God forgave David.

Saul, on the other hand, committed a transgression that seems much less serious. He counted his army. Doesn’t sound like much of a sin, does it? But the heart of Saul’s transgression was a lack of trust in God. He didn’t believe he would win a battle even though God had promised him victory. Not only did Saul not trust God, he refused to confess his lack of trust. Instead he made excuses, tried to justify his actions. As a result, God took away Saul’s kingdom and gave it to David. And God did not forgive Saul.

David is remembered as a man after God’s own heart in spite of his many sins because a relationship with God was most important to him. Saul is not remembered so kindly.

What have we lost because we refuse to say we are sorry? A kind word, an admission of our own contribution to a dispute, can go a long way toward healing relationships. Is there someone you need to say “I’m sorry” to today? What’s holding you back? Is it a stubborn nature, like what often holds me back? What do you have to lose? What do I have to lose? More importantly, think what we have to gain.

What about your relationship with God? Is there some transgression you need to confess to restore the intimacy you once enjoyed with your Savior? What do you have to lose? You have the best God intends for you to gain.