14 March

The key to winning your battles, according to David, is not to rely on your own strength, but to put your trust in God. This goes against the grain, but at the end of the day human strength and power is not enough: ‘No king succeeds with a big army alone, no warrior wins by brute strength. Horsepower is not the answer; no one gets by on muscle alone’ (vv.16–17, MSG).

Rather, God gives victory to those who trust in him: ‘Watch this: God’s eye is on those who respect him, the ones who are looking for his love. He’s ready to come to their rescue in bad times; in lean times he keeps body and soul together. We’re depending on God; he’s everything we need.’ (vv.18–20, MSG).

Raniero Cantalamessa points out that, ‘In the tales of medieval battles, there always comes a moment when the orderly ranks of archers and cavalry and all the rest are broken and the fighting concentrates around the king. That is where the final outcome of the battle will be decided. For us too, the battle today is taking place around the King: it is the person of Jesus Christ himself that is the real point at issue.’

The way we fight the triple alliance of the enemy is with the triple alliance of the Lord.

First, just as the angel tells Mary that ‘the Lord is with you’ (v.28), so Jesus’ last words to his disciples were, ‘I am with you always’ (Matthew 28:20). Whatever circumstances you face, you need not fear. The King is with you.

Second, the Holy Spirit is within you. As the Holy Spirit came upon Mary (Luke 1:35), to bring about a physical birth, so the Holy Spirit comes upon you, to bring about a spiritual birth. You are a child ‘born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God’ (John 1:13).

Third, the King is over you. You are called to be the Lord’s servant. Mary’s response is one of strong, courageous, fearless and dignified trust. She is the model of faith. In the greatest and most decisive act of faith in history she offered herself to God as a clean page on which he could write what he wanted. I love the translation in the Living Bible: ‘I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants’ (Luke 1:38).

Eugene Peterson writes in his introduction to the book of Numbers, ‘We need organisational help. When people live together in community, jobs have to be assigned, leaders appointed, inventories kept. Counting and list-making and rosters are as much a part of being a community of God as prayer and instruction and justice. Accurate arithmetic is an aspect of becoming a people of God.’