“It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their right arm bring them victory, it was by Your right hand, Your arm and the light of Your face, for You loved them.” (Psalm 44:3 NIV)
The sons of Korah wrote and sang this song. It was their sacred duty to take care of the Tabernacle and all their instruments. With hands full of holy things, they had abundant time to consider the protection and the leadership of the Lord.
Israel was unprepared to fight their way into the Promised Land. They were slaves learning to become sons. God took this into account and fought their battles for His people. Their victories were so significant that only God could be credited. History was recorded and repeated. God got the glory for a thousand generations to come.
Today we are still consumed with our transformation from slavery to sonship, sin was the contestant whip at our backs. God knows our pre-occupation with becoming His alone, applauds it and promises to clear out the enemy on our behalf. Like the Israelites, we don’t need some brilliant offensive strategy, we just need to stay close to God. If we spend our limited resources on relationship with Him, He will fight for us. He will have our backs and move us forward at the same time.
“I put no trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but You give us victory over our enemies, You put our adversaries to shame. In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise Your name forever.”
(Psalm 44:7-8 NIV)
Lord, may our greatest concern be falling out of step with You. Impassion us to keep close; withdrawing from sin and staring into the Face of Righteousness instead. Fill our vision and our hearts with Your presence. Let our enemy be reduced to distraction from the one thing that matters most: honoring You. Amen.