The Brook Besor

Right now for my devotional time, I am reading, “Facing your Giants,” by Max Lucado. It is essentially a study of life-lessons from the story of King David. David is one of my favorite Bible heroes. His story gives me strength and courage, and an overwhelming sense of God’s love for me in spite of my failures.

Chapter 9 of Max’s book, entitled, “Plopping Points,” describes an encounter that I have somehow overlooked, in the dozen or more studies that I have done on the life of David.
As the story goes, David and his men had just returned from battle, only to find that their village had been destroyed, and their families had been taken captive by the enemy army. The men were devastated, worn out, and angry. They set off to rescue their families and recapture their belongings.

In their pursuit of the enemy band, David and his army came to a brook, called Besor. They rested a while, got some water, and then David gave the command to get back on the trail, but 200 of the soldiers decided to stay and rest. They could go no further. The army moved on and left them behind.

Max asks, “How tired does a person have to be to abandon the hunt for his own family?”

He goes on, “The church has its quorum of such folks. Good people. Godly people. Only hours or years ago they marched with deep resolve. But now fatigue consumes them. They’re exhausted. So beat-up and worn down that they can’t summon the strength to save their own flesh and blood. Old age has sucked their oxygen. Or maybe it was a deflating string of defeat. Divorce can leave you at the brook. Addiction can as well. Whatever the reason, the church has its share of people who just sit and rest.”

I remember the last time I was at Brook Besor. I can still taste the water. I was overwhelmed by Satan’s attacks on every area of my life. I couldn’t fight anymore. I was at the end of my rope, even considering throwing in the towel and ending my life. I remember yelling at God, “You promised me that you would never give me more than I can handle, but you did! I can’t take it! I can’t go on like this! If you want me to keep going, you are going to have to do something about it, because I can’t fight anymore!”

And do you know what happened? While I was waiting at the brook, too tired to fight, God did what David and his men did in this story: He fought the battle for me! Within weeks, things had changed. Through no effort of my own, some of the problems simply worked themselves out. Others became more manageable, and I was able to gain perspective on how to better handle each situation. Within months, I was back on my feet, and life was good once again.

Just as David and his army continued on their battle, rescuing their families and recapturing their belongings (and making sure that those resting at the brook got their share, even when the rest of the army wanted to exclude them), Jesus fights our battles, and wins the victory for us!

So, when you are battle-weary, come to the Brook Besor and rest a while. Let Jesus fight for you!