Our Focal Scripture highlights that moment when Goliath demanded that the armies of Israel should choose one man who would fight with him. Notice that this was a battle of nation against nation. It was a battle of God against the Philistine gods. It was a battle of Altar against altar. It was a battle of army against army. Goliath wanted the armies of Israel to reduce the battle to be about one man. He wanted them to personalize the battle.
Friend, no matter the battles that arise against you, don’t make it personal. Don’t personalize your battles. Never imagine that whatever you are going through is a matter of man against man. Never imagine that your troubles belong to you and must be defeated with your strength alone. Never imagine that adversity has your name on it. Never take any conflict personal. Never make battles personal. Don’t own your battle.
When you make your battles all about you, even God will have no option but to leave it for you to fight. If you continue to make your challenges personal, leaving God out of the picture, you just might end up exhausting yourself without achieving the victory you seek. If you make your battles about you, leaving out the Lord of Hosts, you may need to replace the Host of Heaven and fight all by yourself. Don’t own a battle and leave God out.
When David would eventually defeat Goliath in subsequent verses, he declared that he came in the name of the Lord. So when Goliath wanted it to be reduced to man against man, he wanted to keep the name of the Lord out of the battle. Don’t allow the enemy to deceive you into thinking that you do not need the Lord to win any battle at all. Don’t let the enemy make you fight your battles without the support of heaven.
Remember, that battle is not yours; the battle is the Lord’s. Your name may not win a battle, but the name of the Lord will cause you to win your battles.
