#Refuge by: Julie Wicker
God has predestined each of us for a purpose. When we are in the will of God, we can take Refuge and find shelter in God’s favor. A story that God has used to wink at me several times during my Dad’s cancer journey is the story of David and Goliath. I believe there is a David in all of us. I also believe we all have Goliaths in our lives. Our Goliath’s may be different depending on the seasons of our lives. Basically, we all have giants to slay. For some of us it’s a daily battle.

David, the son of Jesse, a shepherd boy is the smallest of his brothers. We read about David and Goliath in 1 Sam 17. Goliath who is a champion from the Philistine camp requests a battle with just a volunteer out of Saul and the Israelites. David sees Goliath for the first time when he has been instructed to take his brothers dinner at the battle front. In verse 32 David volunteers to fight Goliath; “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him”. David is so brave that he goes to battle with just his staff and five smooth stones in his pouch. David is brave because he knows the staff and stones are just a portion of his defense. He knows he comes to Goliath in the name of the Lord Almighty; Vs. 45 “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied”. A very important piece to this story, the battle isn’t David’s, rather the battle is the Lord’s. David triumph’s over Goliath with just a sling and a stone. We can find a supporting scripture in Deut 20:4 “For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory”.
Recently during one of my morning runs a song came on my Pandora called “See a Victory” by Elevation Worship. Here are some of the lyrics; “I’m gonna see a victory, for the battle belongs to you Lord. There’s power in the mighty name of Jesus. Every war He wages, He will win. I’m not backing down from any Giants, because I know how this story ends. I’m gonna worship my way through this battle. You take what the enemy meant for evil and you turn it for good.”
What does Worship mean? The feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity. Worshiping God through my Dad’s cancer journey is what has kept me sane. Most days I accomplish this by worshiping God while I run. I recently went to a Woman’s service where my friend April Spoke on “Worship is your Warfare” She said the truest form of worship is surrender. This means surrendering all your hopes, dreams, desires, and past failures. If you look back recently on our word of the week we have; Surrender, Plan, Healing, Refuge. It always amazes me to look back at God’s provision. First, we surrender our plans, then we find healing, and in our pursuit, God shelters us.
What pursuit are you on? Have you gotten into God’s presence so that you can feel His protection? I encourage you to surrender your battle to God. Let Him fight your battle for you and take refuge in His strength. You were predestined for such a time as this.

#Worshipwithus  See a Victory by Elevation Worship