“You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”
1 Samuel 17:45 (ESV)
Much afraid – this is how the book of Samuel describes the Israelite army. Every time Goliath came up out of the ranks of the Philistine army, the men of Israel scattered like frightened sheep. Fear caused them to forget their true identity – soldiers in the army of the living God (verse 26). Their victim mentality prevented them from stepping into God’s promises and claiming the victory.
Have you ever found yourself in their boots? I have. Every time I’ve embraced my perspective of events rather than God’s perspective. Every time I’ve lived in fear rather than facing what I feared. Every time I’ve magnified the enemy (my circumstances, my struggle, hardship, or suffering) to the point where it consumed my thoughts, actions, and decisions. Whenever the object of my fear was so blown out of proportion that it blinded me to my identity in Christ.
In his letter to Timothy, Paul reminded him, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7, ESV). Romans 8:37 states, “we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us.” Note the verb tense and the descriptors; we are more than conquerors. Present tense, active. In other words, we keep on winning.
Every time we claim our identity in Christ, every time we filter our struggles through the lens of faith rather than the lens of fear, we are more than conquerors. Every time we surrender our battle into God’s hands rather than pacing the house mumbling, “What am I going to do?” we are winning a battle. Every time we refuse to let our struggles define us, every time we forbid fear to control us, we take back our identity in Christ.
David claimed his identity when he stepped up and confronted his enemy. He knew he was already a victor because God was on his side. His battle was no longer man versus man, but God versus man. And God always has the last word.
Whenever our fear is greater than our foe, it’s because we are measuring our foe against ourselves (our resources, our ability, our assets, etc.) rather than measuring our foe against our God.
I leave you with this question: Which mentality will control your day? Much-afraid or more-than-conqueror? The choice is up to you.
For further study:
- Romans 8:31-37
- Psalm 118:6
- 1 John 4:4