Do You Know Your God?

 

And David said, "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine."  And Saul said to David, "Go, and may the Lord be with you."

Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted."

                                                                                                                     I Samuel 17:37,45

The battle line was drawn.  A giant approached it every day, twice a day for forty days.  And the other side, the Israelites, would flee in terror and could not face him.

The giant continued to taunt, hurling the challenge across the battlefield.

The soldiers, the ones trained in battle, saw only the giant.  In this moment they forgot something very crucial -- God was with them and for them.

David, the shepherd boy, the one anointed to be the future king, was obeying his father's instructions to go see how his brothers were doing in the battle.  Upon arriving at the battle scene, the giant came to the line and gave his cry, the cry of words he spoke for the last forty days and David hears it.

He asks what will been done for the one who kills this uncircumcised Philistine, the one taunting God?

Of course, he gets push-back.  His older brother accuses him; but the words of David reach Saul and David finds himself in the presence of the king.  The king is doubtful upon seeing the young boy.  Really??!!?

Oh I get it!  To a human mind, this looked incredulous, a young boy facing a nine foot man, one who is armoured in every way possible!

But David.  David knew his God.  David knew who God was and is and stepped forth in confidence because of it.  He knew this giant defied the Living God and the Living God is victorious.

This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, I Samuel 17:46

This day all the earth would KNOW that there is a God in Israel.

So Saul gives David an armour, but it's too heavy, so David goes as he is.  On his way he picks up five stones and with his slingshot and stones faces the armoured giant of a man.

This is where my imagination thinks and would like to have a conversation with David... as he went, was he thinking of how this would work?  Did he wonder, quiver with any fear?  What made him think of the forehead?  Or as he went was he so confident and quickly perused the man, noticing the one spot that was unprotected - the forehead?

Whatever happened in those minutes, we know he knew God and understood this was the Lord's battle and he was only the instrument.

God doesn't deliver with swords and spears and fighting, but He delivers in ways that show to the world IT IS BECAUSE OF HIM!

This time it was with a stone and a slingshot.

Do you know your God in the face of a giant?  Do you understand the power you have to face a giant?  

If you do, you are a VICTOR and not a VICTIM!  I don't know what God will use in your battle or how the victory will be won, but this I do know, that IN GOD we are VICTORS and the battle is His!  Because of Him, we have what it takes to face our giants.

Lord, show me how You want to win this battle.  I pray for courage to face the giants of this moment and for wisdom to know what to do.  Reveal to me the way in which you want me to 'fight', for You so often 'fight' the battle in ways that don't make sense to my human way of thinking.  So, I stay with You, trusting You to guide and reveal what needs to be known.   Thank you for Your love and the wisdom You will give.  In Jesus' name, amen.