With your help I can advance against a troop, with my God I can scale a wall.
(Psalm 18:29)
Does the second half of the verse remind you of your school days and PE lessons? For me, it brings back memories of being in the school gym and being told to leap over this huge vaulting horse. Being only 5′ 1” and definitely not agile or fit, this was mission impossible for me. Some of you might have similar memories or experiences. However, for others of you that are fit and athletic, this task would prove to be no obstacle at all.
My mother was even shorter than I am– she was only 4′ 9” tall. During the war, when she was in the army, she was faced with a similar experience when the sergeant barked an order at her to leap over a huge vaulting horse. With the best will in the world there was absolutely no way that my Mum was going to be able to get onto the vaulting horse, let alone over it! Eventually, the sergeant realised that my mother wasn’t refusing to obey an order – she physically could not hope to get over it on her own. Reluctantly, the sergeant allowed one of my mother’s fellow soldiers to cup their hands together to assist her to get over the vaulting horse.
This verse also reminds me of those programmes on TV about army assault courses, where troops are made to go over a course of physical obstacles, including climbing over the inevitable brick wall! I know that I could not possibly scale a wall on my own. The only way I could hope to do it would be if someone assisted me, e.g. by cupping their hands and giving me a ‘leg up’ to help me over.
Here, the psalmist recognizes that when facing something that seems insurmountable, he can only ‘scale the wall’ with help. The key word in this phrase is ‘my’ – it’s not simply ‘With God…I can scale a wall’ – it’s with my God. It’s all about relationship – our personal relationship with our Heavenly Father which we have in Jesus – because of what he has done for us in making us God’s children. Let’s remember that the Lord is waiting for us to call upon Him in prayer.
When we are facing situations or problems that to us seem impossible, or insurmountable, we too can turn to our God, and ask for His help in overcoming them. Whether its situations and problems in our lives or in the lives of those we know, we too can ask our God for help. He does not want us to do things in our own strength but to be reliant and dependent on Him. By faith and trust in our God, we too can experience His help in ‘scaling those walls’. So let’s get climbing…!