Encourage means “to put courage in.” But what good is courage if there are no battles to fight?
“After this,” begins 1 Chronicles 18. After what? After the Lord had spoken to David and he replied to the Lord, “You have brought me this far” (17:16). But more, “You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come” (v 17). “And now, O Lord,”—David looks far into the future—“the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, let it be established forever” (v 23). That sounds remarkably like the second stanza of Joseph Hart’s beautiful hymn, “How Good is the God We Adore.” He writes, “’Tis Jesus, the first and the last, Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home; We’ll praise Him for all that is past, And trust Him for all that’s to come.” With such encouragement in his heart, we read: “After this it came to pass that David attacked the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its towns from the hand of the Philistines. Then he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought tribute” (18:1-2). David’s triumphs continue: “And David defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah as far as Hamath, as he went to establish his power by the River Euphrates…Then David put garrisons in Syria…and the Syrians became David’s servants, and brought tribute. So the Lord preserved David wherever he went” (vv 3, 6). And so it is with God’s people today. When we are “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might,” we can “put on the whole armor of God” (Eph 6:10-11), and do exploits in His strength. Notice that David gathered spoils from battle that were used by Solomon to build the Lord’s house (1 Chron 18:7-11). So in the struggles we face, it is our hope that, through these, precious lives will be reached and saved, growing with us “into a holy temple in the Lord” (Eph 2:21).