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Day 108, or April 18. God wants you to work with Him. Our thoughts today are rooted in

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one chronicles, chapter 19, verse 13. Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and

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the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in His sight.

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First, the big picture surrounding this verse. David always does his best to treat the surrounding

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nations as justly as possible. But it is not always appropriate, and there are times, like

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with the Ammonites, when he has to be more severe than he at first intended. David is

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sorely tempted by the devil at this time, as he seeks to make preparations for the temple

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that will be built by his son Solomon. David charges Solomon to be strong and courageous.

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And now our action step for today. Joab's words before his battle with the Arameans

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were very helpful then, and they're equally inspiring today. It's inspiring to know that

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whilst we do our best as God leads us, we will ultimately have the victory, because

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God will always work out His purposes. It doesn't mean we don't need to try, but

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it does mean that success is not solely down to our efforts. I remember teaching both of

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our sons to ride their bicycles. Using stabilizers or simply holding on to their bike seat made

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me feel very disconnected, and I was anxious in case they fell off. I held on to them and

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did what I could to help, but they had to push the pedals and keep upright, too. It

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wasn't them or me, it was all of us. Both sides had to do their part. Of course, I could

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simply have taken the bikes from them and rode them myself, but I wanted them to do

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it. That just about sums it up. God could do it himself, but He wants us to do it with

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Him providing help, when and where it's needed. I'm sure God is trusting us to do something

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today that He could easily do Himself, but at the same time He wants us to step out and

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take action. Are you currently holding out on something? God won't step in and do tasks

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that He wants you to do, so you had better move and do your part and enjoy the next adventure

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He has for you.