Be merciful to me, my God, for my enemies are in hot pursuit; all day long they press their attack. My adversaries pursue me all day long; in their pride many are attacking me. – Psalm 56:1-2

Today's Scripture Reading (April 19, 2022): Psalm 56

Trying to fight a war on two fronts is never a good thing. The preferrable battle is always to be able to concentrate your forces on a single front. Defensively, it is even better to further limit the attack window to a certain pathway, knowing that if the enemy is going to attack you, they will have to do it through that single gateway to whatever you are defending. And there, you would be able to concentrate your defensive forces, making it even harder for the enemy to overcome the defending army. If you can do this, then even a small army can repel a much larger one. The failure of many wars can be found in the decision to fight on multiple fronts. Adolf Hitler's plan to dominate Europe was ultimately defeated because he chose to fight a war on multiple fronts, especially in the East against the Soviet Union and the West against France, Britain, and their allies. By dividing his forces between these two fronts, he wasn't strong enough to win either battle. The ultimate result was that, eventually, Germany fell.

David is alone and discouraged. He recognizes that he is in deep trouble. It is not just that David is trying to evade the armies and informants of Saul, but the Philistines are also seeking him. They wanted to take their revenge on him for killing Goliath and leading Israel to victory in other battles. David was being forced to fight a war on two fronts; it was a battle that he knew he could not win.

And so, he cries out to his God for salvation. God is his only defense against the adversaries that surround him. Both Saul and the Philistines remember and are enraged by the simple rhyme of the people;

            "Saul has slain his thousands,
                                and David his tens of thousands" (1 Samuel 18:7).

And with pride, they both throw those words back at him, believing that they were proving that they were greater than the great David. David, the people's hero, had become David the pursued, and soon, his enemies were sure that they would be celebrating David the defeated.

It is a reality of which David is well aware. And he knows that the only way he will get through this time in his life is if God moves and protects him. He needs God to extend His mercy, and he commits at this moment to fight his battle on a single, spiritual front, depending on God to provide both the physical and spiritual victory that David needed. Nothing short of a dramatic move of God would suffice. If God did not move, David would not survive the next few days, let alone the years and decades that God had promised him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 22