September 7, 2021
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Reading along with us in 1 Samuel? Here’s today’s reading:
1 Samuel 17 (NIV)
David and Goliath
1 Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Sokoh in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Sokoh and Azekah. 2 Saul and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3 The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them..........Continue Reading
No matter how many times I read this chapter and the account of David and Goliath I am always struck by the amount of faith David displays. God does such BIG things with such little things. David is small, his 5 stones were small, the confidence the Israelites had in David was small…and yet David’s faith was great and God shows us His power and what can be accomplished when we have faith. Faith even as small as a mustard seed and God will do great things!
1Samuel 17
1 Samuel 17
Reflecting on the fact that David took off the usual military clothes for battle and gathered his stones and slingshot, instead. It made me think that God equips us to battle our giants with something we are familiar with, something we are already good at – a gift, a talent, a skill. What am I good at? And how can I use it to battle the giants of God’s kingdom?
1 Samuel 16-17
What an incredible story showing the great faith of a boy and the great power of God. It is beneficial to read stories like this that are so familiar like you have never read them before. The only thing that explains David’s amazing courage is his absolute confidence in God. What stark comparison between him and every other Israelite soldier (including the king) that shrunk back in fear over the superiority of Goliath’s strength and size. But none of that matter to David because His God was bigger and better still. He was offended by what the Philistine said and wanted to defend his God. It challenges us to think how much we are like David when life throws some giants at us. Does our faith in God generate the courage displayed here?
Now we shouldn’t be surprised when we are expressing this kind of courage that we will have our neigh sayers. Eliab, David’s oldest brother, assigns a lot of bad stuff to David (can someone say sibling rivalry) and we may find people doing the same to us. But God knows our heart and so we just continue to look to Him. Others will also gives us their answers for doing the courageous thing we are doing. But we are best to deal with the things God has used in the past. A few smooth stones take down a giant! It’s the power of God at work to guide that stone and enhance its impact I imagine. But David said sword and spear don’t save, it is God who does. So bring on those giants in their various forms and may we face them with the same courage that David had because we share the same faith in our great God!!!
David demonstrates his unwavering faith in the power of the Lord. God gave David previous victories over the lion and the bear that he can look back on and remember God’s faithfulness.