1 Samuel 17:1-58

This is likely one of the best known stories in all of Scripture, but it serves to remind us of the power of God and His ability to meet any need no matter how difficult the circumstances may be.  The power of God, the courage and faith of David as well as the cowardice of the army of Israel and King Saul are all on vivid display in this chapter.  We clearly see God controlling the circumstances so that David shows up at just the right time and then directing David and the stone from his sling to just the right place.  It just one of those “God things” that we just stand back in awe and amazement as He works His will.  It also demonstrates just how amazing it is to be an instrument in the hands of God.  God will put us in some very difficult circumstances that may be very hard for us to face but when we trust Him and He starts to work the experiences are fantastic.  This is the way that we should live our lives.  There is so much on which we could focus, but I would like to look at the character of David that is on display in this chapter.

DAVID WAS CONSISTENT IN HIS WORK: David was a shepherd and part time harp player for the king.  When his father had a job that needed to be done David was the one called to do that work because he knew that it would get done.  David faithfully fulfilled whatever task that was given to him whether it was big or small.  When Jesse sent him on one job he left the sheep in the care of another shepherd and set off to do as he was told.  These are the types of people that God uses.  Many people sit around waiting for some big opportunity to come their way as they watch countless small opportunities pass them by.  These people will be waiting around for a very long time.  God looks for those who are busy and faithful doing whatever is before them and then blesses them with great opportunities.  We must work to consistently be faithful to fulfill the task at hand if we expect to be given new or different tasks.

DAVID WAS CONFIDENT IN HIS GOD: When David arrived at the camp and heard Goliath making fun of Israel and blaspheming the name of God, he was dumbfounded that there were not any men willing to take this challenge.  David had no delusions about his own physical abilities to overpower a man that was close to twice his size; what he had was a great faith in God.  He was confident that God would defend His own name against this giant that was openly putting the name of God to shame.  David would not stand for this and made it clear that he intended to accept this challenge.  His brothers, the other soldier and King Saul all told him that he was out of his mind, but he had no doubts that it was God who was going to fight this battle.  He had done it in the past and David was completely confident that God would do it now.  This is true faith and it is what is absolutely vital if we are in hopes of stepping forward in service to the Lord.  We must trust God and His power when circumstances and the people around us are all saying that things are impossible.  Each experience we have in the Lord’s service serves to strengthen our faith and prepare us for the next challenge.  Faith building always begins somewhere and as we grow and the Goliaths of our lives fall the sky is the limit as to what God can do in and through us.

DAVID WAS COURAGEOUS IN HIS BATTLE: No matter how consistent we have been and how confident we are there is still the moment when we have to step onto the battlefield and courage is essential in this moment.  It is one thing to know that has happened in the past and to trust God from inside the king’s tent.  It is a completely other thing to step into the clearing with a nine foot giant standing in front of you that had a spear bigger than your head pointing right at you.  Goliath laughs and promises to feed David’s flesh to the birds.  David does not blink.  He has the courage to yell back that the God of Israel was going to “show up” and that the birds Goliath was talking about would be eating Philistine flesh and not Israeli.  We all hope that we would have this kind of courage, but the truth is that we will never know until we go to battle.  All of the other soldiers in Israel’s army had read the same Scriptures and heard the same stories as David.  The difference was that David believed and had the courage to step forward and be used by God.  We must not only talk about how much we trust God, but have the courage to strap on our boots, pick up the tools of our trade and go forward to do the work that God has called us to do.  He will win the victory but we must make ourselves available.