“Lord of Hosts”
When trying to find inspiration for my next art piece, I was going through a rough patch, hyper-fixating on my circumstances and overcome with fear. I then received the rock shown in the drawing from my mom. She told me that she was given it at work that day and was told to carry it with her to remind herself of the story of David and Goliath and that no matter how big our circumstances might seem, the Lord fights our battles for us. This timely reminder became the subject of my next drawing.
In this story found in 1 Samuel 17, there was a champion that came out from among the armies of the Philistines. He challenged Israel to send someone forward to fight him. The conditions of this fight being that whoever lost would have to be the other army’s servant. Standing at over nine feet tall and decked out in armor, weapons, and shield carrier walking before him, the army of the Israelites had every reason to be afraid. Overcome by their fear, none had stepped forward to take on the Philistine champion. The book, The Cry of the Soul, explained fear by saying, “Fear is our response to uncertainty about our resources in the face of danger when we are assaulted by a force that overwhelms us and compels us to face that we are helpless and out of control. Fear is provoked when the threat of danger, physical or relational, exposes our inability to preserve what we most deeply cherish” (Allender, Longman, Tada, 2015). When faced with the danger that Goliath had brought, the Israelites were overcome with fear because of their belief that they were too weak and too inadequate to face this giant (Perry, 2022). The problem with the Israelites did not come with the fact that they were afraid. It is not unspiritual or a sign of spiritual immaturity to acknowledge your fears. The problem came when they made fear Lord and submitted to it instead of fighting against it (Perry, 2022). I have made countless mistakes in my life as a result of giving in to my fears. This never resulted in feeling good that the thing that caused me fear is no longer an obstacle. It resulted in temporary relief in the moment, but a lingering regret of what could have happened if I didn’t give in to it. I reacted in a way that was similar to the Israelites when I should have had the same perspective as David did.
David’s perspective of the obstacle at hand was significantly different than that of the Israelites. He realized that this battle had everything to do with God and kept his eyes on Him, while the army of Israel left God out of the equation altogether and became self-centered (Perry, 2022). Although David was just a teenager and had no experience, he did have one thing that Goliath lacked, a God who fights his battles; the Lord of hosts. Lord of hosts is a military name, meaning the leader of heaven’s armies who fights for His people. This story of David and Goliath displays this perfectly. Jackie Hill Perry in her sermon David and Goliath stated, “You are not strong enough to fight every battle. You are not smart enough to overcome every intellectual obstacle. You are not wise enough to always know what to do…your fear simply brings to light your own limitations. That is often what God wants from us. To put you in a place of dependance where you can become strong because now you recognize you’re weak. But you won’t depend on God until he removes all your crutches.” (Perry, 2022). David knew this and was able to trust in God completely. With the help of the Lord of hosts, he was able to defeat Goliath by using just a stone and sling. Often times we become guarded by our past traumas and disappointments and try to handle everything on our own, leading us to believe that we are the only ones that can protect ourselves. When we leave God out of it, our problems can seem unmanageable as fear and panic take over, making us feel trapped in a cage of our own making. I, however, was able to experience firsthand that even though we can keep our guard up so much that no earthly force can get through, we have a God that continually fights to free us of what has kept us bound. He is a defender of His people, even when he needs to fight you to free you. (Perry, 2022).
In my own stubbornness and distrust in the Lord, I faced everything on my own until I didn’t have the strength to fight anymore. In order for the Lord to fight for us, we need the faith and trust in Him to invite Him into the battle. Sometimes this comes by facing battles we can’t face on our own that bring us to the end of ourselves. When I finally turned to the Lord for help, my circumstances never went away. I did, however, learn to have complete dependence on Him through everything, even when I don’t understand why it’s happening. Romans 8:28 states, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” He is a good God, so if circumstances are not good, God is not finished yet. We can have peace in the midst of the battle knowing that the Lord of Hosts is fighting for us, just as He did for David.
References
Allender, D. B., Longman, T., & Tada, J. E. (2015). The cry of the soul: How our emotions reveal our deepest questions about god. NavPress.
NASB: New American Standard Bible. Foundation Publications, Publisher for the Lockman Foundation, 2020
Perry, J. H. (2022, December 1). David and Goliath: The Lord of Hosts fights for you (Glory Conference). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppz29XIU2Jc
