The Battle is the Lord's

After Saul agreed to let David fight Goliath, he attempted to put armor on David. The account says this: “And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go.” But David didn’t like it and wasn’t used to it: “And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.” So David went without physical armor but he did take the armor of the Lord. He hadn’t proved the armor Saul tried to give him, but he had proved the Lord in his experiences with the bear and the lion: “The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” He emphasized this again in what he said to Goliath: “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied…. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:37-39, 45-47). Goliath had physical armor and strength, but David had the God of Israel to fight for Him, something more powerful than any sword or shield his opponent could have. Ultimately it was not David’s battle but it was the Lord’s, and the young boy knew that the Lord would take care of himself.

                A story that I listened to yesterday in the latest Saints book gave an inspiring example from our dispensation of how the Lord will indeed do His own work and provide miracles in the face of figurative Goliaths. In May of 1893 the Church was in a terrible situation financially in the midst of a larger financial crisis in the country, and Heber J. Grant was sent to the eastern United States to try to secure new loans. As he left, “President Cannon gave him a blessing, promising that angels would assist him.” If his trip was not successful “the Church would default on its loans and lose the trust of its creditors. It would then be unable to borrow the money it needed to stay running.” He had some success initially but it was not enough and “as the days went by, he struggled to find more lenders. The crisis had frightened everyone. Nobody wanted to issue loans to an institution already deep in debt.” A few months later he was still there and the pressure for him to be successful had significantly increased: “He had received a terrifying telegram. Zion’s Savings Bank and Trust Company, the Church’s most important financial institution, was on the verge of failure. So too was the State Bank of Utah, where Heber served as president. If he did not wire money to the banks the next day, they would not be able to open for business. Both Heber’s and the Church’s reputation with creditors would be damaged, perhaps forever.” He couldn’t sleep and pled with the Lord for help. He had been promised angels and “success beyond his expectations” but “Heber could not imagine anyone loaning him enough money to save the banks.” He needed $200,000 and it was a Saturday when the banks closed at noon. He had been searching for those who might lend the Church money for months and now he had only hours left.

                The account in the book describes the miracle which happened that day this way: “He decided to visit John Claflin, the head of a large mercantile company, but John was not in his office. With time running out, Heber caught a train to the city’s financial district, hoping to visit another bank. On the way, he became absorbed in a newspaper and missed his stop. Exiting the train, he walked along aimlessly. When he came upon the office of another acquaintance, he stepped inside. There he ran into John Claflin, the very man he wanted to see. Knowing Heber’s predicament, John agreed to loan the Church $250,000, provided he receive a 20 percent commission. Despite the high cost, Heber could see that the Lord had answered his prayers. He wired money to Salt Lake City immediately. The funds arrived just in time to save the foundering banks.” For me this story highlights David’s declaration to Goliath: “The battle is the Lord’s.” Heber did everything he could, but ultimately it was the Lord that miraculously took him to John Claflin and inspired him to provide the loan just in time. Surely for each of us the Lord will also provide miracles as we seek to do all we can and put our trust in Him. It is not the figurative armor of the world that we need but the help of the Lord God of Israel. No matter what difficult situation we are in, we can come to it in the strength of the Lord knowing that “we’ve proved Him in days that are past.” He will fight our battles in the days up ahead if we have faith in Him.