The Fear That Raced Through My Body…

We can fight with courage because we know the Lord will do what is good in His sight.   #daybydaylw   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   It was common practice when I was in my teenage years, that after church on Sunday night, there was a group of us boys who would end up at one of our houses to eat and then play basketball, watch a movie, or some other common teenage time spender. On one particular night we were all at my house. We had been in the living room watching a movie, got bored and then made our way to the backyard to play basketball and jump on the trampoline…probably pulling the trampoline up next to the goal so we could do extravagant dunks. During that time my parents came home. They had been out to eat with some friends that night after church. I was walking in the back door, and could see into our living room where mom was straightening up the mess we had made. She reached down to pick up some pillows off the floor, and when she did that, she uncovered a cigarette that was laying on the floor. Perhaps you can imagine the shock and sense of fear that raced through my body at that moment. She picked up the cigarette, called my dad over to her (which only intensified my fear). They had a brief discussion, and then they announced to everyone there, “Okay boys. We found this cigarette. I don’t know to whom it belongs, but we are calling all the parents to let them know that we have found it, and they can deal with you on their terms.” So they did just that. They called all the parents. The culprit confessed, and his parents dealt with him as they saw fit. I could stand up here and tell you story after story that involved my parents, and how they seemed to have always done what was right when it came to raising their boys, and just about every other area in their life. They weren’t perfect, but they had this north star ethic about them. They had standards and principles by which they made decisions. Believe it or not, those standards did not always benefit me in the moment. Sometimes those decisions caused pain, or frustration, disappointment, confusion. But having the benefit of time and space, I can look back on most decisions that they made on my behalf and say they did what they thought was right. This morning we see a similar sentiment expressed in a war-time speech given by the commander of the Israelite army. In 2 Samuel 10:12, Joab, David’s chief commander, cries out, “Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him/what is right in his sight.” We can fight with courage today because we know the LORD will do what is good in His sight.