41 Will ComeSample

DAY 7 — SHAKE OFF DOUBT & DOUBTERS

Devotion

When David heard Goliath make his daily challenge, he inquired about the reward for anyone brave enough to fight the giant. The response from his own brother Eliab was, “Go home, dude!” In my mind, I hear Eliab mimicking and impersonating a sheep as a way to jeer David. “Go baaaack to Daaaad! Come on, Daaaavid! Go baaaack to your sheep!” Laughter.

It hurts to be mocked by your own siblings, doesn’t it? When your own family doesn’t believe in you, it cuts to the core. Perhaps you’re there right now. Maybe you have finally decided to chase your dream only to be dissuaded by doubters under your own roof. Well, as my friend Todd would say, “Carry on, soldier. You got this.”

That’s what David did. He dismissed doubt and went straight to King Saul. But all he got for his trouble was more doubt and discouragement. One would think that—after 40 days of cowardice from his own soldiers—the king would be ecstatic to finally find somebody who was brave enough to step up. Nope. Instead, King Saul said, “You don’t have a chance against him. . . . You’re only a boy, and he’s been a soldier all his life.”

Sharing your vision with the wrong people is like letting the air out of your own tires. If David had listened to his brothers, he would have been deterred from his destiny. Here’s a quick tip: Surround yourself with people who believe in you.

David could easily have crumbled, as most people would have. Who would have blamed him? In fact, everyone was probably hoping and praying he would change his mind. But David wasn’t like most people. He knew that succumbing to words of doubt would derail his dream and win him a one-way ticket back to the sheepfold. So instead of listening to King Saul, he obeyed a greater King. Instead of punching a one-way ticket home, he won the keys to the kingdom. His decision to step up would eventually land him on the very throne of the king who told him he didn’t belong.

If you want to kill the giant that stands between you and your new day dawning, you need to shake off doubt and doubters.

WHAT DOUBTS AND DOUBTERS DO YOU NEED TO SHAKE OFF?