Marching in the tops of the balsam trees

In 2 Samuel 5, David "inquired of the Lord", as he did often, if he should go attach the Philistines and if the Lord would give him a victory. God's response was so awesome, I just had to share it here... He told David that yes, He would go before Him and defeat the Philistines for him, and gave directions as to when David should go out and fight against them. His 'cue' would be when David heard the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees.

"As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army." 2 Samuel 5:24

Can you imagine? They must have been in a forested area, it could have been hard to know exactly where the other army was, and maybe David's victory depended completely on God because He would have no chance otherwise. So he probably informed his army to just sit tight until they heart marching in the treetops. What would that marching be? God's army marching through above them to fight a battle that was just part of a war still raging today? And you have to wonder if at least a few people thought David was totally nuts...or maybe they all just had great faith in God as their deliverer and defender, because they had seen Him prove Himself to them time after time.

God may not make treetops rustle with the sound of boots barreling through very often these days, but He still does make a way for us. Yesterday I was reading my Bible in the morning and I was feeling apprehensive about what else the future could hold. So I just asked God to remind me of his promised plans for us, before I opened His word. I noticed a highlighted page as I flipped through to find where I'd left off, and took a detour into Isaiah. There I saw Isaiah 45:2. "I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron." I clung to this verse during the spring of 2007, when I was graduating from Taylor and wondering how the heck God was going to do everything I sensed He was telling me He would. I was thinking about visas to Brazil, dating Joaquim (we hadn't started yet...) and then an international wedding (yes I had high hopes even before dating him!) and...you know...there were LOTS of barriers when I looked at things. So God gave me this verse and very clearly told me that yes, there are barriers. But He is bigger and stronger than they are.

Now this verse encouraged me again, because it seems obstacles never cease. There will always be something that I think we won't make it through, or somewhere we will never arrive. Oh, me of little faith! Thank the Lord for reminding me... what just happened this Monday? Joaquim got his green card in record time, we are married, we are exactly where we're supposed to be.

And how did we get here? Well, there must have been some balsam trees rustling somewhere...