1 Chronicles 19:14-19: a reflection

14So Joab and the people who were with him came near to the front of the Syrians to the battle; and they fled before him. 15When the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem. 16When the Syrians saw that they were defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and called out the Syrians who were beyond the River, with Shophach the captain of the army of Hadadezer leading them. 17David was told that, so he gathered all Israel together, passed over the Jordan, came to them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him. 18The Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed of the Syrian men seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand footmen, and also killed Shophach the captain of the army. 19When the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and served him. The Syrians would not help the children of Ammon any more.

When the Ammonites hired the Syrians to fight Israel, it seemed a formidable coalition. But God gave Israel the victory: the Syrians fled, and when they regrouped with reinforcements from beyond the River, David defeated them decisively. And notice the outcome: the servants of the Syrian king, seeing they were defeated, made peace with David and served him, and would not help the Ammonites anymore. The entrenched opposition was not only broken but turned; former enemies became subjects at peace.

Notice the two-fold result. First, God gave victory over a coalition that looked overwhelming; the combined forces arrayed against his people were scattered. And second, more than that, the defeated enemies made peace and served; the opposition did not merely fail but was transformed into submission and peace. What had been a threat became, in the end, no longer a threat at all.

There is quiet encouragement here about the opposition we face. Entrenched coalitions arrayed against us, forces that look formidable, are not beyond God's reach to break, and even to turn. God can not only give victory over what opposes his purposes but transform the opposition itself, turning enemies into those who make peace. When you face formidable, entrenched opposition, do not assume it is permanent or unbeatable. The God who scattered the coalition against David and turned the Syrians to peace is able to subdue what opposes you, and even to change it. Trust him with the opposition you face.

Lord, you gave David victory over a formidable coalition, and the defeated enemies made peace and served him. When I face entrenched, formidable opposition that looks unbeatable, remind me that it is not beyond your reach to break, and even to turn. You can not only give victory over what opposes your purposes but transform the opposition itself. Help me trust you with the opposition I face, and not assume it is permanent. You subdue and even change what stands against your people.