Past Victories and Future Success

 God intends for all believers to grow strong in their faith in Him. That is why He allows us to have small trials. When we trust Him to deliver us in these small challenges, our faith grows, and we are ready for something bigger in the future. Then, God can use us to win great victories, once our faith has been strengthened. David's fight against the giant Philistine, Goliath, is a great example of this truth. David was confident before king Saul. He knew the same Lord who delivered him from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear would delivered him from the hand of this Philistine. (I Samuel 17:37) When the king heard David's testimony and saw his great faith, he simply told David to go, and "may the Lord be with you." That is the only way any of us ever wins a great victory in anything in our life.

What is your enemy now? We all have enemies who prey on our weaknesses. Some of us need to overcome the giant of overeating. How can we possibly do that? We start with small victories, allowing God to give us His strength. Then, we progress until we are able to conquer the giant itself. The same can be said for winning the victory over alcohol, drugs, or sex. God is there for us. When we are attacked in a small way, we must turn to Him for wisdom and power to say "No." He can and will do that, if we surrender to His will. Then, each small victory leads us to more and more victories, until those giants are defeated, as well. That is God's plan for every one of us, as believers. We are to grow to be more and more like Jesus all the time. Jesus never sinned, but He was tempted in all ways like we are. (Hebrews 4:15) Therefore, He knows just what we need to face every attack and win. We must decide to trust Him, instead of trying to do it ourselves. He will give us more and more victories in this simple way of growing.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 18-21.