“The Bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength”. I Samuel 2:4 NIV
Danni was full of life. She bounced around in excitement when she went for car rides, walks, or when her humans came home. She barked at other dogs who dared enter her territory. She was a mighty, little warrior. And then she was not. Within days, she was struggling to breath and barely able to stand for any length of time.
Do you ever feel like a broken warrior? As we age we can feel physically broken. We have great spiritual victories and we are moving forward for God. And then we are not. We’ve fallen, feel defeated and spiritually broken. Elijah felt this way after a great victory recorded in 1 Kings 18. He was God’s prophet, God’s warrior. Then Queen Jezebel threatened him. He ran away; broken in spirit.
Did God leave Elijah broken? No, of course not. He gave him rest and provided food to strengthen him. He restored him with a still small voice (1 Kings 19). Psalm 34:18 states, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit”. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds”, the psalmist tells us in Psalm 147:3.
Our strength is not in ourselves. Our strength is in God. Psalm 44:5 declares, “Through You we will push back our adversaries; Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us”. Deuteronomy 20:1 states, “When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you”. Again in Psalm 18:39 is stated, “For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me”. Psalm 24:8 asks, “Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!”.
When we are fighting in our own strength our bows are broken. We stumble and fall. God draws near to be our strength and deliverer. He lifts us up and pulls us close and the victory is His. The victory is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord (1 Corinthians 15:57). So strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees (Hebrews 12:12) for the battle is the Lords (2 Chronicles 20:15).
Just Another Dog Devotion 