The Safety of Being on the Frontlines

We are actually safer from the attacks of the enemy when we are moving within our destiny. A lie, that many Christians buy into, is that when we are doing the Lord's work we are opening ourselves up to greater attacks. This is only partially true. The enemy reserves his greatest attacks to those with the largest callings within the Kingdom. He doesn't need to attack and torment those who pose him no threat. But if the Lord calls you to the front lines then you are actually safer there than if you remain in a place that seems safe.

The story of David and Bathsheba is an example of this. 2 Samuel 11 starts out with the following account:

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 

David was avoiding his calling and destiny as both a king and a man of war. The season demanded for him to be out waging war on the front lines but he remained safely at home. Because he was in the place of safety and leisure he opened himself up to this attack. I'm sure that David justified his staying home. He was king- he deserved some rest and relaxation. He had spent much of his life waging war and doing battle. One year didn't make a huge difference- in fact his generals were leading the Israelite armies as well as he could and were having great success against his enemies. David might have used the excuse that he was better off at home playing the role of a psalmist than off on the front lines as a warrior king.


We use lots of excuses to avoid being where God is calling us to be. Sometimes those who are closest to us will be the ones who tell us that it is too dangerous. For example, my family believes that I have no business ministering in Hollywood and fear that the temptations of immorality will be too much for me to handle. But David had given into the desires of the flesh by staying at home and when he got from his afternoon nap and saw this beautiful naked woman, the flesh that he had already given into, took over.


Bathsheba had just finished her period and was going through her ritual cleansing when David saw her. She had probably thought that she was safe from prying eyes since David was supposed to be off to battle (where her husband was). We all know the rest of the story, about a month or two later Bathsheba realized that she was pregnant, David tried to cover it up by ordering Uriah home for some rest and relaxation hoping that he would lay with his wife and later think the baby was his. But Uriah was a man of honor who refused to enjoy the pleasures of home while his men were on the battlefield and spent the night with the palace guard. David panicked and did the only thing left to try to cover up his sin from the nation, he made sure that Uriah would be killed in battle.


This sin resulted in judgement against the house of David. If David had gone to battle that year as he should have then David would have never had the heartbreak of his beloved son Absalom rebelling against him (2. Sam 12:10) and the eventual division of his kingdom. When we are moving within the will of God there is a covering of protection that is removed when we choose to operate outside of His perfect will.


But God is a god of love and redemption. What is amazing with this story is that Solomon was birthed from the marriage of David and Bathsheba. Solomon, the wisest man who has ever lived, was chosen by God to bear the seed of Abraham and carry the lineage of David. The very kingly and priestly lineage that God chose to utilize to bear the Messiah. God redeemed the greatest sin that David ever committed and used it to bring salvation to the entire world. The wisdom literature of the Old Testament was largely written by Solomon and the nations of Solomon's day learned about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through him. Solomon was a marvel of his time, built an incredible temple to house the visible manifestation of God's glory on this earth, and introduced God's truth to kings and queens throughout the earth.


Do not dwell on past mistakes- God can and will redeem them. But let us learn from the mistakes of David. There is a grace of protection that is only there when we are truly positioned within the perfect will of God. Recently I have been the recipient of this grace. The wrath of the enemy has been directed against me and I have felt him trying to destroy me and cut me off from my destiny. But these attacks fell to the ground even though I was powerless to resist them. Why was this? I am positioned where God has called me. If I was not within the will of God then I would have fallen in some way. 


Keep yourself within the Lord. Remain in Him. Allow yourself to pray in tongues when you are at your weakest and don't know how to pray. When you are weak and don't think you can resist the traps of the enemy allow the Holy Spirit to intercede for you. When you pray in tongues He who is within you is praying those things that you are too weak to pray. He is making those utterances that you want to but don't know how because the obstacle in front of you looks so big. He who is faithful will provide an escape. Keep yourself where God has placed you. Don't run from the frontlines just because the battle rages. If that is where God has placed you then you are actually safer there. Don't run from your destiny because the battle seems bigger than anything else. Keep your gaze upon what glimpse of Jesus that you have and your circumstances will grow smaller and smaller as your view of Jesus grows.