Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “You’ve got to pick your battles wisely.” Often when that’s spoken, it’s referring to an argument, disagreement, or tough conversation that must be had. “Picking your battles” refers to the amount of time and energy you’re willing to spend working through it or trying to seek change in a situation. Certainly as we grow in spiritual maturity, we realize that not every “battle” (emotionally, physically, spiritually) is meant for us to fight on our own.
In fact, God once spoke to his people through Moses, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exodus 14:14). Now, there are times when we need to speak up and act. But more often than not, how many battles have we rushed into with friends, neighbors, coworkers, those on the “other side of the aisle,” or even family members that were simply not ours to fight?
Perhaps no one embraced this truth more than David. In 1 Samuel chapters 24-26, David is in the middle of some heated tension with King Saul. Saul is jealous of David’s popularity and can sense that the Lord’s anointing has left him and has clearly fallen on David. Because of this, he’s come after David as a threat to his power. David, being the crafty and wise warrior he is, has multiple chances to kill Saul and end this feud. Instead, David is so tuned into God’s will and timing, that he picks his battles wisely.
After resisting a perfect attempt to take out Saul, David says, As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “the Lord himself will strike him, or his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed. (1 Samuel 24:10-11). Now, is there a part of David that probably wanted to take him out while he had the chance? Yes! But notice that David has such a trust in the will and timing of God’s plan to fight the battle on his behalf, that he restrains. David realizes, “This isn’t my battle to fight.” If God’s hand is truly on me, and not even King Saul can escape the justice of God for his evil actions, then I’m leaving this battle up to God.
Of the many things we learn from David’s story, one of the most important, and most practical, is that not every battle is ours to fight. Often, God might just be calling us to a deeper level of trust in his way, in his time.
Questions for reflection:
- Think of a battle (emotional, mental, relational, spiritual) that you are currently facing with another person or group of people. Have all of your efforts to resolve it been under your own strength or wisdom? Have you considered asking God, “Is this my battle to fight?”
- Consider a battle that you’ve wanted to fight in the past but restrained from for the sake of trusting God’s timing. What was the result? How has God shown himself faithful as you’ve learned to wait on the Lord just as David did long ago?