Revista ARMONIA

by John Urs

?Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab?s anger was aroused against David, and he said, ?Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.?

?And Saul said to David, ?You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.? (1 Sam 17:28,33)

You can?t do it! You?re not the right person! It?s impossible! You just can?t! Can?t you see the reality?

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?Are these familiar words to you?

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Every time we are facing a challenge in our lives we are struggling with these kind of thoughts and attitudes. They are coming from inside and are coming from others too. The reality of life is so cruel and our soul is so fragile, the circumstances we face are so complicated and we are so weak.

As I already stated the first enemy is inside of us, in our minds. The first person who is skeptical about me is myself. This is the first weakness we have to face, the fragility of our own faith. Every time we go through a difficult situation and we face a certain problem, addiction or sin, we doubt about God. We say: ?It?s true that God was with me last year and ten years ago, but this time is different?? In a way I?m right, this time is different, but God is the same. This is the strongest argument to rely on our faith: GOD IS THE SAME. He doesn?t change, His power is the same, His love is the same, His provision is the same? I change my mind very often, I change my beliefs?but God never changes.

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The second enemy I have to face in my war with my weaknesses is my inner circle of trust. This is the kind of reality David had to face on that day. Even his own brother was telling him this harsh words misjudging his character and motives. It?s so difficult to see that your loved ones, the ones you should rely on are telling you such words. You see the anger of his brother, you see the envy and you see the judgmental attitude he had. Many times we are so disappointed because the people we are trusting are turning their backs to us when we need more than never their support and encouragement. I can?t believe when I see what kind of attitude had Eliab. He saw a totally different David, than God. He told him that his place is with his sheep, because war is for real men and not for him.

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Have you been disappointed by the ones you love? Have they betrayed your trust? Don?t give up, don?t hate them ? it?s just their incapacity to see your heart and your faith and commitment to God. Pray for them and don?t give up on them, your victory will show them that God is in control of our destiny. I remember about Jesus? brothers and the attitude they had about Him, but what happened after Jesus was resurrected? James (His brother) became one of the leaders of the church.

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The third enemy in our struggle with the weaknesses are the ?specialists?. Saul was the most entitled person to talk about the reality David was facing. Saul was a warrior, he was a skillful and a brave soldier and he done an analysis of the situation and gave a professional verdict: ?You can?t!?

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Saul had very strong arguments: you?re too young, you?re too inexperienced, you?re not very well armed? and he had some arguments about the opponent: he is an experienced warrior, he is big and strong.

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We meet so many ?specialists? who are ready to give a verdict when they should fight. It is easier to tell that you can?t than to fight the reality. Saul was the most entitled person from Israel to fight Goliath, but he decided not to. He was a specialist of war, but in the same time he was a coward too.

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Most of the time ?the specialists? are facing the same weaknesses we face, but they gave up on the battle and all they do is to discourage others too. The most fierce critics are those who are doing the same things or worse?

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Not only that I can?t trust myself in this battle, but I can?t trust my relatives and I can?t trust the specialists. The only One who is worthy of my trust is the Lord my God. If you?re struggling today with a certain weaknesses and you feel like you?ll never win, you have only one chance to trust God. David did it and he won the battle against the general opinion. You can do it ! You are the right person! Everything is possible for those who believe!

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David Livingstone prayed many times this prayer: ?Send me anywhere, but go with me. Lay any burden on me, but support me. Cut down all my connections except the one that?s keeping me in your ministry and close to Your heart!?