Rest In The Battle

Read: 2 Samuel 7:1-16

I will give you rest from all your enemies. 2 Samuel 7:11

IN WORD

Our King is well acquainted with warfare. So are His people. No matter how zealously we follow God, it seems that everything in life is contested. We don’t love Him, worship Him, or serve Him in a vacuum. The world is full of critics, skeptics, and the agenda of an evil-hearted enemy. Neither God nor His people have any illusion that there is peace on every side.

Notice, however, that God never told David He would remove his enemies. He simply promised to give him rest from them. There’s a difference. And David certainly had enemies, his kingdom erupting in conflict in the years after his sin against Uriah the Hittite. Yet eventually David would emerge undefeated, his kingdom would endure, and it would be eternally established as the Kingdom of the Messiah. The “rest” didn’t come immediately, and it didn’t come easily. But it came. Just as God promised.

That’s how His promise works out for all who honor Him with their deepest desires. We may encounter adversity, but it will not get the better of us. We may have detractors, but their opinions won’t be confirmed. We may face the hostile opposition of the evil one’s agenda, but it won’t last. There will be rest, not just from some of our enemies, but from all of them. That’s our King’s desire for His subjects.

IN DEED

It’s easy to become battle-weary. It’s also easy to develop a defeatist attitude in the midst of the fray. But we need to understand the desire of our King to establish His people. He calls us overcomers, more-than-conquerors, corulers forever with Him. He sees the end of the battle far more clearly than we do. And from that big-picture perspective, He offers us small-picture hope. There is an end to the conflict, in this age and in the age to come. He will give us needed respite. And victory is absolutely certain.

ADDITIONAL READING: Romans 8:35-37

We sleep in peace in the arms of God when we yield ourselves up to His providence.

FRANÇOIS FÉNELON