Trusting In The Lord’s Defense

One of the statements I remember made by my Old Testament professor in college was made on the first day of class. He said,“You young people think you are going to come here and learn the Bible so you can defend the Bible… well let me tell you that God’s word was here long before you and will remain long after you and God does not need you to defend him." 

 Now please don’t take this out of his context. He went on to instruct us on how to argue the case for Christ and defend our beliefs, but his point was not to have an attitude that God needs me to defend him. Today's passage supports that very claim.

Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.  As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”  And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Acts 8:1-9 (NKJV)

  Saul was notorious for his persecution of Christ followers . He consented to the stoning of Stephen, and as this passage points out, he was threatening and murdering those who would follow Christ. Rather than sending a man to deal with this God-sized problem, God revealed himself to Saul. The rest of Saul’s story has him changing his name to Paul and becoming one of the greatest church leaders in history. God defended himself and the Christians of the day by having a personal encounter with Saul. I think that when we face opposition we focus WAY TOO MUCH on how “WE” can fix or fight the issues. The truth is that if we step aside and allow God to move rather than trying to figure it out ourselves we may find that today’s strongest adversary will become tomorrow’s mightiest ally. There is just one thing we have to do... it's a simple concept with a hard follow through… pray for our enemies. 

God used David to fight Goliath, but he dealt with Saul personally. So we see that there are seasons where we are called to fight, but we are to jump in with our holy battle gear. I want to encourage you to pray about each situation and allow God to direct you in your actions. God is smarter, stronger, and better equipped for the victory, so step aside and allow him to defend his people. I will close with a quote from JAG a TV series from the 90’s, “Why should I fight a battle that a two star Admiral is willing to fight for me.” This Hollywood concept is better illustrated in 2 Chronicles 20:17 (NKJV):

“You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” 

In this account God set one enemy of Israel against two other enemies of Israel. They fought each other and there were no survivors nor anyone left to fight. God delivered His people and can deliver you. “If God be for us who can be against us.” Romans 8:31 (NKJV)