Xanthe Hancox

With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. Psalm 18:29

Psalm 18 is a royal song of thanksgiving in which we see David as a divinely inspired warrior, delivered from all his enemies with help from God.

After triumphing over numerous obstacles, David’s faith is soaring. He can do anything! The king’s assertion that he can crush armies and leap over walls reminds me of Paul’s famous declaration, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13).

It is worth noting that God helps David to overcome these obstacles rather than simply removing them. Even David, God’s anointed, does not claim that the wall is flattened, only that God has empowered him to move past it.

Although David was a military man who fought and won many battles, I don’t think he wrote this wonderful Psalm simply to document a historical victory but to inspire future communities of believers. Thousands of year later, we can still be inspired by the triumphs of people like David and Paul; God’s people that have gone before us.

What is the greatest thing you have accomplished with help from God? What walls do you need to leap over? When you pray, do you pray for your walls to be flattened or for the ability to hurdle them?

Prayer: Father, when we are at our weakest, you step in and lift us up to new heights. When we were powerless, you gave us Jesus, our rescuer. Thank you. Amen.