Fighting Your BattlesSample

Nobody took David seriously except for God. But right there was David’s advantage. He may have been short on inches, but David’s faith towered above everybody else’s because the Spirit of the Lord was on him. He was sure of the Source of his strength. He knew the Spirit’s supply would never fail. All of this gave him courage like no one else. “From where does my help come?” he would write later. “My help comes from the LORD” (Psalm 121:1-2).

Contrast David’s approach with Saul’s. Saul was the king of God’s covenant people and knew the Philistines were uncircumcised. Still, Saul was worried. Not only was David small for his age, but he was too young for battle. (In ancient Israel, you had to be twenty to enlist.) The king actually told David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth” (1 Samuel 17:33 ESV).

Goliath was ranked number one in the world. He’d been fighting wars since before David was born. So Saul was right; David couldn’t win. But the kid knew how to get the win: “The LORD…will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine,” he told Saul (verse 37 ESV).

In other words, God is able. We are not.

David had gotten the memo.

Next, Saul offered David his own armor. Basically, he tried to make David bigger. Isn’t that our go-to as we size up the giants from the sidelines? Isn’t that how we prepare for battle in our own strength? We try to make ourselves (or our guy) seem bigger. We think, If I just had more money, more influence, more followers and views, and members, more, more, maybe I’ll have a better chance of victory. Saul obviously thought the same way we do.

Saul loaded David up, even handing over his brass helmet and sword. The shepherd-singer must have looked like a three-year-old trying to wear an NFL uniform. No way could he fight in that! Instead, David opted to go to battle in the greatness of the One who called him. He decided he would rely on that to defeat Goliath.

Grabbing his slingshot, David picked up a few small stones and headed toward the Philistine camp. The kid who couldn’t carry a warrior’s weights—would be the one to face the giant. The rookie with faith like a rock would take the field with the confidence of Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.

How could he? He remembered his calling. I’m more than a conqueror. He remembered his covering. I can imagine David telling himself, “If God says this is who I am, and He’s got my back, then how can I not take on this giant He has called me to fight?”

It didn’t matter who or what he was up against. David was set. He would go with God, and God would go with him.