How Is Your Faith

Do you ever read the Bible and try to put yourself in the situation that the characters are in or do you ever imagine yourself being there while the circumstances are unfolding or maybe being the main character?  Think about when David had his battle with Goliath.  Think about the Army of Israel shaking in their boots when the giant comes out to challenge them.  All these men are seasoned warriors, David is just a shepherd boy going there to check on his brothers for his father.  

As the story unfolds you realize that David possesses something that these soldiers don’t possess.  Because of this attribute David shows no sign of fear, but the Israelites are terrified of this giant, there is not one of these soldiers that would fight against this Philistine.  David not only shows no fear, but he runs toward the battle with only a slingshot and five stones, without the attribute David had, this would make no sense.  This giant is covered from head to toe with armor plus he has a huge shield to block anything that comes at him.  But there is a place he can hit the giant and that is in his forehead, and that is where he hit him and then he cut off his head with the giant’s own sword.

How would you like to have been there and seen these things take place first hand?  It is easy to read these stories and really miss a lot of the important facts about them.  It seems like every time I read, or talk, about this story I think about this; when King Saul saw a shepherd boy, God saw a king, David’s brothers had the same problem.  There is a song that is called, “Shepherd Boy,” by Ray Boltz and in it he says, “But when others see a shepherd boy, God may see a king.”  This is so true, it is easy to misjudge the person that God is going to use in a mighty way, so we need to be careful.  

The attribute that David had, that seemed to be missing in the rest of them, was faith; David couldn’t have accomplished what he did without it.  How did David have the faith that he had?  He learned it by spending time with God while in the fields tending sheep and also through some of his experiences as a shepherd boy.  

David said this in 1 Samuel 17:32-37, “David said to Saul, ‘Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’ Then Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.’ But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living 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 this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and may the Lord be with you.’”

David also said this to the giant in verses 45-51, “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. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.’ Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground. Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.”

It is easy to think about this story as just a children’s story but it is far more than that, this is a story of faith and it is for every age group.  The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”  David was full of faith and, because of it, he was able to kill the giant with God’s help.  

What about the giants in your life?  With a strong faith and trust in God, you can be victorious over any giants that are trying to defeat you in your life, with God’s help, like David did.  And remember this story is true, not a fairy tale like some people would want you to think.  What God did for David, He will do for you, if you trust Him and demonstrate it by faith. Something to think about, have a great day and God bless!!