It's Spring! Time for Battle!

2 Samuel 11:1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
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David stayed home. He got lazy, complacent and then lustful. His gift and his calling was leadership in war. It was the season for war and yet he stayed back. Contrast this with Bathsheeba's good husband who, when invited home from the battle fields, refuses to accept the luxuries of his marraige bed. What a stark contrast! What a shocking reversal for David!
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I find myself in a similar situation in every spring of my life. Spring is that time when the air begins to smell of freedom and our bodies thrill at the thought of indulging the senses. But where does this lead? Childhood memories, nostalgia of late summer nights, conjure feelings of happiness which, in turn, stir up discontent. We try to recapture some lost happiness, some thrill of spring, but it is allusive. What did David think would happen after he satisfied his urge to have Bathsheeba? Did he think the happiness would last forever? Did he think there would be no consequences? He didn't think...he felt, and wrongly.
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Spring - the season for war and fasting. Winter is over and the world falls in love again with life, but we are not yet to the end of our winter as humans. There is still frost that must thaw before our eternal spring.

Tested Armor

1 Samuel 17:38 Then Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, 39 and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.
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In war there is no opportunity to do test drive equipment. If one has the choice between something that feels stronger and something that is known to work, the latter might very well be the logical choice. It is interesting then to note that David is leaning on two 'known' stengths, in spite of voices which question his decision making. First, he trusts in God. Secondly, he trusts in the weapons of his day to day warfare, sling and stone, rather than sword and armor. This should be a lesson to me to trust in God from day to day, using the weapons of daily spiritual warfare in a way that builds spiritual muscle and trust. When goliaths appear, I shouldn't grasp for unfamiliar weapons with which I have no ability. God willing I will have some means of using the things I have practiced with.