There Is a “Happily Ever After”!

10 In God (I will praise His word), in the Lord (I will praise His word), 11 In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? 12 Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God; I will render praises to You, 13 For You have delivered my soul from death. Have You not kept my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living? 

—Psalm 56:10-13

David’s reverence for the Word of God was obviously a sustaining element in his life, and the same should be said of all of us! He reminds us that ours is a fact- based trust, not a “Fairy Tale trust,” as some accuse us of today. David says, “I will praise His word, I will praise His word. In God I have [not “will” but “have”] actively put my trust; I will not be afraid”! On what grounds did David base his faith? He says, “You have delivered my soul from death and kept my feet from falling by giving me a lighted path.”

We have to acknowledge the truth that God allows hard things in our lives, but let me add this: Not once has any believer had to face the trials and traumas of life alone. As we continue to look at the topic of Courage under Fire, David’s statement about God’s deliverance of his soul from death clearly shows us the eternality of the human soul. David knew that his soul would not see the Second Death, no matter what the enemy tried to use against him. When it comes to having courage under fire, we need to remember to keep one eye on the enemy and the other on eternity, and in the midst of that, spiritually, to keep both eyes on the Lord.

The apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 2 wrote “ . . . if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices” (vv. 10-11). The opposite of ignorance is awareness, and this negatively stated truth means we are aware of the enemy’s devices. We find David here in Gath as the man chosen and anointed of God to be king. There is no way that this could be considered the route to the throne that David would have chosen, just like we, as the chosen and anointed of God, encounter things that we would not expect along the way. So how do we maintain courage under fire?

Trusting in the truth of God will keep the advances of the enemy at bay. Remember who our Almighty God is, and then ask yourself, “Who’s your daddy?” Your Daddy is the King of kings and Lord of lords who fights and always wins. Your soul is saved by the blood of His only begotten Son. Since the devil can’t rob you of your saved soul, what can flesh or man or Satan actually do to you that is of eternal harm? Nothing! But that doesn’t make the enemies around us any less real, although it does make them less threatening.

So how do we handle their presence? By keeping one eye on your enemy and another on eternity. Church, we are under attack, and the enemy is coming in like a flood. We need to have courage under fire, based on faith in the Word of God. Remember who your Daddy is as you keep one eye on your enemies and the other on eternity. It lies before us now. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Excerpt from “Beside Still Waters” now available on Amazon.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Barry-Stagner-Headshot-Round-Small.png

BARRY STAGNER