Wax stronger and stronger

2 Sam.3:1, ‘ Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.’

These are the days which we never dreamt of, nor imagined of during our past days. But nothing is a surprise for the Lord. All things are happening in His knowledge and for His purposes. The end days which we often read  and heard about are now closer and are felt more intensely. And the only option to survive spiritually is to grow stronger and stronger, just like an eagle faces a cross road during its life time to either live long and strong by being ready to go through a major transformation of its body structure or else choose to die by not choosing the same.

David and Saul were  together on a good note. But later, jealousy and wickedness creeped into Saul’s heart and they parted. For a long time, King Saul chased David to kill him. But everywhere, the Lord’s amazing protection was seen over David. And there was a long war between the house of David and house of Saul. The former grew stronger and stronger, while the latter grew weaker and weaker.

David represents light while Saul represents darkness. The fight between light and darkness has always been there. But when the intensity of the war is too strong for a long time, even the stronger ones starts giving up. As we now see the life on this earth growing tougher and tougher on the physical realm, the fight between spiritual forces also intensifies. The things happening all around are not giving any signs of hope . There is a great challenge for our faith life. As Jesus said in Lk.18:8, ‘ Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”’

King David chose to grow stronger and stronger and thus, his house grew stronger and stronger.  David was a man of war. He fought wars till his last days on this earth. Wars came up, one after the other.  Its amazing that yet, he never failed. As a warrior, he wore his armor well. That was the secret behind it all.

1. Helmet of salvation (Eph.6:17) : 2 Sam.22:3, ‘The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn^[a]of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence.’  Salvation was always the priority of King David. He never aspired for position and power more than the presence of God.  He rejoiced in his salvation more than in the splendor of his powerful kingdom. If salvation is the most important issue of life for a person, he or she receives amazing grace to overcome every hurdle that comes his or her way. Such a person refuses to compromise on any matter that might endanger his or her salvation and are always on the right track. All hurdles look small for a person whose eyes are fixed on the gift of eternal life.
2. Belt of truth (Eph.6:14); 2 Sam.22:40, ‘For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.’ At times, King David did struggle with fear but he was always quick to He always leaned on God. Hence he was surrounded or girded with strength. The truth that the Lord God subdued the enemies of David always was embedded in his heart. Hence, he did not hesitate to face the giant Goliath saying, “I come to you in the name of my Lord.” The belt of truth is the belt of strength. The deep realization of the fact that the One who is within us is stronger that the one who is in this world is the truth. But how often we forget this  !
3. Breastplate of righteousness (Eph.6:14) ; 1 Sam.22:24-25, ‘I was also blameless before Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. ²⁵ Therefore the Lordhas ^[e]recompensed me according to my righteousness,
   According to ^[f]my cleanness in His eyes.’ David hated sin and loved righteousness. He was always quick to confess his sins whenever he was convicted of the same. He never justified himself as Saul did. Hence, he realized that the greatest blessing of a man is being forgiven by the Lord. He wrote in Ps.32:1, ‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is’ Let’s get this truth deep into our hearts and enjoy the peace of God and assurance of His presence.
4. Shoes of gospel of peace (Eph.6:15); 26:12, ‘My foot stands in an even place; In the congregations I will bless the Lord.’ King David never hesitated to glorify the name of the Lord. He danced and worshipped the Lord before the ark of God (2 Sam.6). Even when his own wife despised this act, David did not hesitate to exalt His name. He was ever ready to lift up the name of the Lord, who had lifted him up from the sheepcote and had placed him on the throne . If we always realize how the Lord has lifted each of us up from the miry clay of sin and death and how He has placed us in His kingdom, we can never stop sharing this great news with the lives around us. May we all have that great burden for the lost souls and let’s not withhold the word of truth which can save them from eternal condemnation.
5. Shield of faith (Eph.6:16) : When David faced Goliath, the giant, King Saul forced him to put an armor. But David put them off saying that he was not used to it (1 Sam.17:39). 1 Sam.17:45, ‘Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lordof hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.’ The huge size of Goliath did not make David fearful. When King Saul and his armored troop stood far behind trembling in fear, David who was armored with the great shield of strong faith bravely went ahead with 5 small smooth pebbles. His eyes was fixed on the Lord who was with him and he did not fear the giant who breathed out threats. Let’s stop wavering in faith. Every situation is allowed by God and He assures us of His presence in each of them. And if we cling to His presence, it turns out to be the great shield of faith which carries us steadfastly ahead in this run.
6. Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph.6:17) : 105:14-15, ‘He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; ¹⁵ Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.’ King Saul had given David a very tough time, chasing him for days and months to kill hm. But David never took revenge. Based on this commandment of the Lord, King David never harmed King Saul, even when he lay fast asleep before him and he had the opportunity to slay him (1 Sam.24). Not only did he keep God’s word, he also punished those who disobeyed the same (2 Sam.1:13-15). Obeying the word of God was the sword of David. Hence God honored him. God honors those who honor Him. 2 Sam.23 :1, ‘Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel,…’
7. Praying always (Eph.6:18) : David wrote many psalms and most of these are prayers. The phrase ‘I will call upon the Lord’ is a common phrase in his psalms. His life moved ahead in the strength of his prayers. He was a prayerful man. He did not just pray, but was also assured that the Lord heard his prayers and answered him. 2 Sam.22:7, ‘In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God;
   He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry entered His ears.’ David always hoped in the Lord in all situations. A person who is assured that his prayers are heard by God, prays again and again. But the one who prays with doubt, fails in his prayer life. A person who fails to pray ends up in failure. King David  prayed both in the happiest time of his life and in the darkest time of his life with same fervency. How fervent is our prayer life ! More than asking for favors, blessings and deliverance, prayers is the common platform where God and man works together. If we crave for this togetherness, we will take all efforts to get into the unceasing praying attitude.

When David waxed stronger and stronger, his enemies grew weaker and weaker. The only way to make our obstacles of faith life look smaller and weaker is by growing stronger in the Lord. Stronger in obedience, stronger in prayer and stronger in anointment of His Spirit. It requires great strength to swim against the flow. As this world and the things happening in this world are carrying  the whole mankind into depression, fearfulness, hopelessness and sinfulness, lets gird ourselves with great and greater spiritual strength, so that we too don’t get carried away with this flow . Let’s put on the full armor of God, without which, we might invite the attacks of the evil one and fall. David waxed stronger and stronger and finished the race of faith diligently. Wars were the platforms for the manifestation of his growing strength. Likewise, the issues and burdens of life are only the platforms to manifest our spiritual strength. Let’s discern it and finish the race of faith diligently.

God bless us all

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