Training for Battle

I’ve been learning how to throw a pot on a potter’s wheel at a local community centre. After 6 hours of practice I can successful centre my clay on the wheel. How easy it looked, but with my inexperienced hands I found the clay constantly going off centre. It wasn’t until I concentrated all my strength on steadying my hand, and leaning into the clay, that I could centre it. It required both mental determination and physical strength. Throwing a pot is a skill that must be learned and with it ‘new muscles’ are built.

The Israelites weren’t in any shape to put their hands to battle. God needed to know that His people could stand against their opponents and not shrink back in fear. So He hand-picked Israel’s opponents to train them for war and test them, to see if their hearts would remain obedient when the heat was on.

We see these testing times in our own lives, but aren’t too excited when they come. It can be frightening if we don’t know God’s heart’s intention for us. It’s not to see us squirm, or even to remind us that He’s more powerful than us. It’s to equip us with the tools we need to succeed!

He allows us to go through trials and shaky times to produce His strength in us. Jesus completed His life-purpose on earth by going through many trials and each time passing the test. We’re to follow His lead and walk into and through the fires of our lives, believing that He’s producing new muscles in us. God’s a Master Potter who moulds the clay into His exact design.

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for continually moulding me into Your masterful design for my life. Show my heart that Your tests are not to crush me, but to train me to endure in this world. I give You permission to train my hands for the spiritual battles I must go through and I rely on Your strength to bring about the victory. I choose to trust in Your faithfulness. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.