“I love you, LORD; you are my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.” Psalm 18:1–3
Notice that before David confronted Goliath, he said, “This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!” (1 Samuel 17:47 NLT). He was confident not because he possessed superior fighting skills but because he was doing God’s work. For that reason alone, Goliath couldn’t touch him. And neither could the devil.
Flash-forward several years. David is king. Instead of leading his army in battle against the Ammonites, David is idling in Jerusalem. He seems to have drifted from his once-intimate relationship with God. Maybe it was due to the pressures of being king—or maybe it was due to the trappings of royalty. Whatever the reason, David lowered his spiritual guard and made himself vulnerable to attack.
The devil wasted no time in exploiting the breach. David’s temptation started with a lingering glance at Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of David’s loyal soldiers who was away fighting the Ammonites. It ended with the killing of Uriah, the death of David’s newborn son, and the implosion of David’s family. All because David made himself an easy target for the devil.
The devil continues to look for easy targets. He knows that it’s easier to hit something stationary than something that’s on the move. A believer who is moving forward in Christ, who is growing in their love for the Lord, is not nearly as easy to hit as one who’s beginning to relax their grip on the Lord. That’s the one whom the devil will set his sights on. That’s the one who will become his next casualty.
Reflection Question: What does an intimate relationship with God look like in your life?
