Fighting Your BattlesSample

Not only do we need to keep our calling in front of us and our covering over us, but we can’t forget our testimony. Our testimony is what God did for us and through us in the past. What we saw God do yesterday produces boldness for today.

David was full of confidence for this exact reason: He’d seen the Lord’s track record throughout his life.

What was David’s job before he became Israel’s king? Tending sheep. What’s the job of a shepherd? He has to lead the sheep. Protect them. Provide for them. And yes, clean up their messes. So when Saul told him, “You can’t fight Goliath; you’re just a kid,” David referred to his past job as a keeper of his father’s sheep: “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (verse 37 ESV).

David had no doubt that the One who had called him to the battle would fight for him in the midst of it. David had no doubt that the One who had shown up for him every time in the past was going to be in the battle with him now.

In your battle today, you can’t forget what God has already brought you through.

When it was time for David to go up against Goliath, 1 Samuel 17:48 says, “David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.” He ran toward the battle because, even though this challenger was bigger than the lion and the bear, David’s God was the Almighty, the Lord of heaven and earth, the faithful Deliverer who never fails. The Lord would do again what the Lord has always done.

Listen, the challenge in front of you is the stairway to your promotion. Don’t let whatever is standing in your way force you to miss the next level.

God often promotes us in the challenge before He promotes us in the calling. In other words, there’s a job interview before you get the job. It’s as if He’s saying, “I have to know if you’re going to remain faithful. If you continue to trust Me by faith, not by sight, with the beast staring you down right now.”

If you think about that in your own life—if you think about who God says you are and the things you’ve already been able to accomplish because of His work through you—then you realize, Okay! Let me pass this test to reach the next level God calls me to.