A Word from Psalm 18

Many years ago, I read a book called The Bronze Bow, which tells the story of a young man named Daniel who lives in Israel around the time of Jesus. Now, it just so happens that Daniel’s had a hard life. And he hates the Romans because of it! And so, he becomes a zealot—a rebel fighter who’s devoted to destroying the Romans. And he takes as his “theme verse” some words that are found in today’s word from Psalm 18:

It is God who arms me with strength

     and keeps my way secure.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;

     He causes me to stand on the heights.

He trains my hands for battle;

     my arms can bend a bow of bronze. (18:32-34)

Now, in the midst of his violent life, Daniel meets Jesus. And he comes to realize that the hatred to which he’s devoted himself isn’t only hurting him, but also the people around him. And so, he begins to believe that real strength isn’t measured by the ability to inflict damage on others, but on the ability to love and serve others—even those who could be considered enemies. He learns, in other words, that “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” (1 Cor. 1:25)

So I wonder: What would godly strength look like in the battles that you’re fighting today? And I pray that you, like Daniel, will discover that “our struggle isn’t against flesh and blood…but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12). May you find that, in those battles, God does give you strength, so that your arms can bend “a bow of bronze.” Amen.