Reading through the Psalms from 51-59 I felt the struggles and stretching going on in David. Several of these Psalms refer to his early battles with Saul and his running for his life. Sometimes we feel this kind of stress and it seems like the enemy is in hot pursuit. We are encouraged to run to God our fortress and we often do but that doesn't mean the battle is over. We may have some peace for awhile but then we are back into it. The good news is that life has it's seasons and David wasn't always chased by Saul. In fact, David was elevated to the place of power and authority.

If something is chasing you or me, (a recurring dream I have from time to time,) we can run to Jesus but not always staying at rest and avoiding the battle going on in the world. Jesus will give us comfort and encouragement so that we may then head out to face our enemy again. But there are also times of rising up on the wings of eagles and feeling God's power and presence filling our sails. These times of hope and strength give us more stamina in the midst of more intense battles. As Jesus said, "in this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)