“He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David, The LORD gave David victory everywhere he went.”
~ 1 Chronicles 18:13
Hi James and Ellen,
How does a guy or a gal or a kid get the victory? How often do you disagree with your ma and/or dad? How often do you want to do something but your ma and/or dad will not let you do what you want to do? Are you finding yourselves often caught up in a mini battle? You may be in a mini battle right now with yourself about something. You may be in a mini battle right now with another kid. If you are in a mini battle with something or with another kid, who are you hoping will win the mini battle? How do you feel when you get your way? How do you feel when you do not get your way? Your grandpaa does not like it when he does not get his way when he really thinks that what he believes is right or when the team that he is playing on loses because his team did not make a real team effort to win. Your grandpaa had a missionary on his missionary team in Guatemala who would start mini battles with the goal of winning the mini battles. This missionary would decide that he wanted something or that he wanted to do something which he knew that your grandpaa would not be happy if he got what he wanted and did what he wanted to do. Even after your grandpaa would tell this missionary not to get what he wanted to get or not to do what he wanted to do, this missionary would look for different ways to get what he wanted to get or to do what he wanted to do. Does this missionary sound anything like you? Because this missionary would do the same thing with the mission agency that he and your grandpaa were missionaries, the mission agency finally had enough and asked the missionary and his wife to resign from the mission. Guys, gals or kids sometimes begin mini battles to get attention. The missionary who was asked to resign felt unless your grandpaa or the mission agency agreed with him that he was not liked. This missionary used up a lot of your grandpaa’s and the mission agency’s time trying to get your grandpaa or the mission agency to agree with him. There came a time when your grandmaa knew that when this missionary was in your grandpaa’s office that your grandmaa after a period of time would call your grandpaa on the telephone to give your grandpaa an excuse to leave his office. What do you do when your ma and/or dad will not let you get something or to do something? Your grandpaa thinks that you sometimes probably act very much like the missionary who your grandpaa knows – who would never give up until he won the mini battle that he had started.
Are you finding that your lives are filled with mini battles and conflicts? A conflict can be seen as a battle. A battle can be seen as a war. Guys, gals and kids get killed in wars. You live on a planet where guys fight and kill other guys. Your grandpa believes that no guy, gal or kid wants to be part of a battle or of war where guys kill each other yet guys and gals find ways to fight each other at work, in church and at home. Guys, gals and kids when they think that they are right and when they want their way wound other guys, gals and kids by what they do and by what they say. Your enemy Satan likes it when you do battle with another kid. Your enemy likes it when you want to get your way or when you think that you know more than another kid – or your ma and/or dad. This is why God wants you to be aware of your enemy’s tools. What has your enemy been getting you to do? Have you ever gotten mad? Have you ever lied? Have you ever disobeyed your ma and/or dad? It is very important to get the victory over your enemy’s tools that cause you to sin. The chronicler in 1 Chronicles 18 tells you that God had David fight in wars. God had specifically instructed His specially chosen people – the Israelite people group, to completely annihilate every single enemy people group who was living in the land which He had promised to give to them to have as their very own land to live in if . . . David would do almost all the time what God asked him to do. Each time that you go into a mini battle or into a major battle, you need to decide whether or not what you are fighting for is really worth the fight. God will help you in any battle or in any fight that you have with any enemy of His if . . .if you get into a battle or into a fight with another kid – or with your ma and/or dad, it is possible that you have become an enemy of God as you may be fighting on the enemy’s side against something which is right.
When your grandmaa and grandpaa were studying Spanish at the Rio Grande Bible Institute in Texas, your grandpaa sometimes would in the afternoon play basketball with some of the other guys. One of the guys one afternoon began to get madder and madder with another guy. The other guy had stolen the basketball a number of times from the guy who was getting angrier and angrier. Stealing the basketball from another guy is part of playing basketball but . . . your grandpaa finally suggested to the guy who was getting the guy angry that he should stop doing what he was doing. The guy just minutes later stole the basketball again this time getting the guy to totally lose it. The guy ran to where the basketball was, took the ball and threw it as far as he could. Your grandpaa asked the guy who had gotten the other guy so angry why he did what he did. The guy told your grandpaa that he was helping the other guy get the victory. The guy who had a serious anger issue later on stuck out a leg – on purpose, to trip a guy causing him to crash down on the basketball court. The guy ended up with a broken arm and a concussion. Do you think that getting mad pleases God? David made God happy when he did what God wanted him to do. The chronicler wrote in verse 13 “He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David, The LORD gave David victory everywhere he went.” You will get the victory – if your fight is against an enemy of God and if you let God do the fighting for you. Do not ever forget that it is God’s side that will always win in your mini battles.
1 Chronicles 18 (67)