Goliath Must Fall for Young ReadersSample

Day 3-Rejection Must Fall

In the story of David and Goliath, David is rejected before he even battles the giant. As a teenage boy, David was taking supplies to his brothers in the army. When he got to the camp, he heard Goliath’s taunting and asked who is going to fight him. The Bible says, “When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, ‘Why have you come down here?’” (1 Samuel 17:28).

This response isn’t surprising if we know the rest of the story. In 1 Samuel 16, we learn that when the prophet Samuel came to Jesse’s house to anoint a new king for Israel, Jesse started with the oldest, Eliab. Eliab was the biggest, oldest, and strongest of the brothers. Surely, he was going to be the new king, but God said, “Nope. Not him.” Undoubtedly, Eliab felt spurned. The system seemed upside down. He wasn’t chosen as king. Instead, the youngest brother was—the kid who wasn’t even in the lineup. Eliab felt rejected, and rejected people reject people.

Rejection is real. Nobody wants to feel like he or she isn’t good enough—or smart enough—or wanted enough. Nobody wants to be left out or overlooked. We may pretend we don’t need anyone else’s approval, but even if we wish it wasn’t true, other people’s opinions matter to us. A word of rejection—even a small or accidental one—can sting. 

The opposite of rejection is acceptance. This can create its own problems. There are people who have to win at everything to prove they are good enough. They want to be the first in the class, captain of the team, the star of the show. But they’re never happy because their self-worth is all based on what they’ve accomplished. This is the same giant as rejection.

But when you seek God’s acceptance instead of the acceptance of other people, everything changes. Peer pressure doesn’t have a hold on you because you want to please God more than you want to please the popular kids. The fear of not fitting in or being alone is lessened because God is with you, and He is good.

The only thing that helps us knock down the giant of rejection is to wrap ourselves in the true acceptance of Christ 

Imagine Jesus today whispering in your ear, “I really, really love you. I am already pleased with you!” It might feel crazy to think the God of heaven—the creator of the universe—knows you so personally. Many of us freak out when we get thirty likes on a social media post. Yet the God of the universe is mindful of you (see Psalm 8)! He has pursued you (see Luke 15:3–7).