The Beauty in the Battle

Reading of the Day: 1 Chronicles 17-19

1 Chronicles 18:11: Them also king David dedicated unto the LORD, with the silver and the gold that he brought from all these nations; from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.

David won so many victories as listed here in 1 Chronicles...and as we read, it can be easy to treat the text as a story that we just calmly read & pass as we enter into other chapters...but I'm sure David would want us to pause & see just how much God was with him! Also, battles weren't easy! As hard as it is, we have to remember that this wasn't just a story-it's a documented account of the violent action that went on in order to cause those victories! We could easily say, "Just another victory here, just another victory there" but each one required all the prayers & strength they could get! As we keep this in mind, God did not let them forget their well-earned victories! The same gold & silver that was once housed in the dwellingplaces of the enemy were brought to Jerusalem in order to be placed in the new house of The Lord which David's son Solomon was building! Every piece of decor would remind them of the beauty in the battle. Yes, there was blood. Yes, there was loss. But, God was with them & therefore there was victory! What were once riches in the house of the enemy were turned into gold & silver medals for fighting the good fight of faith! And God is with us in our battles too...He will make beauty come of them as well! What once belonged to the enemy will soon become a gold medal & badge of honor for staying faithful & true to God in our lives. Sure, we might have battle scars. We might have wounds that are hard to forget. But through the process, God refines us & turns US into those gold medals by coming out victorious! We can soon change perspective & look at our scars as gold medals! What was once the ugliest part of our story becomes the beauty in the battle! With God, we will always win!