Praise be to the LORD my Rock,
Psalm 144:1-2 NIV
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.
This is a psalm from David, the warrior king. And no doubt he wrote it in relationship to his ability as a fighter. Fighting battles with the surrounding nations and peoples. He understood that it was God who had equipped him to successfully fight in these battles. From the bears and lions of his youth, to the Philistine champion Goliath, to leading armies into battle, God had enabled David.
Joining the Battle
But most of us today are not engaged in that kind of conflict. Or are we? Paul, in Ephesians 6:10-17 painted a picture of the spiritual battle that all believers are a part of. While we do not directly see the enemy combatants, they are there none-the-less. And they are very actively involved in the fight, even when we are not. In the Ephesian passage Paul describes the equipment that God provides to enable us to effectively stand our ground in the fight.
And in this psalm of David, we can offer the same thanks to God, who trains our hands for this spiritual war that we are engaged in. If we are willing, he will train us to be successful in battling against this enemy.
But he will also provide us with a fortress, or stronghold, where we can rest securely. And that fortress is God himself. Even while I am battling the enemy, I can be assured that I am safe within his protecting arms. That is no guarantee that I will not suffer in this life. But it is a guarantee that he will keep me safe until the end (2 Tim. 1:12).
Hello
As my husband was reading this passage to me last night, bc it stirred him that morning, I have been pondering…
I’m wondering if it’s for spiritual battle. My husband worships the Lord with his guitar and voice, as many do. My fingers often fail me, so what GOoD are they…? I can raise my hands tho❣️
Thoughts? New Year blessings 🙂
David was a warrior. And he acknowledged that it was God who enabled him to fight the battles he was in. We can related this to spiritual warfare that we face today. God equips and trains us to be successful and to stand our ground. But in a bigger sense, God equips and trains us for whatever task he has called us to do for him. It might be as a teacher/writer like I do here. More likely, it is something entirely different. But whatever God has called you to do, he will enable you to do it.
Is God behind the ability of good boxers like Ali, Tyson, Leonard etc. ,?
In 1 Corinthians 4:7, Pauls says, “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”
What we call natural talents are not something that we obtained ourselves, they were given to us. The development of those talents and skills is up to us. And how we use them is up to us. But, in the end, even though I might credit genetics, it is God who gives me those abilities. He is my creator.