Armor in the Tent

There are certain men, in my life, who are mentors to me without even really knowing it. These are men who I would drive hours just to have a cup of coffee with. Guys who I'd cut an hour out of anything other than being with my wife and daughter for. Men who I admire and want to be like and have a lot of influence over me. They are men whose lives I look at and measure how my life emulates and stacks up with. Do I carry the same aspects of character as these men? Biblical and modern life, relatives and friends, there are not very many of these men, but those who I admire in this way are so incredibly valuable to me. Gorden Cook is one of those men and dropped a lot of wisdom on me last week.

"And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent." (I Samuel 17v.54b)

David took the most prevalent proof of killing Goliath to the leaders of the nation. But, he took the armor and kept it, not as a sign for others to see, but rather as a reminder to himself of the battle he fought and how the Lord came through.

With everything that is going on in mine and Carrie's life, it feels like one battle after another. What Gorden did was reminded me of the real need to look back on those pieces of battle that we've taken from previous skirmishes and remember what the Lord has already done. Our great commander and general, our fortress and salvation leads us through the warfare of life. He always comes through... many of us need to remember the incredible ways that HE wins the battle and carries his children.

Fortis esto. Ardens esto. Moderatus esto.