Teenagers!

When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 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. (1 Samuel 17:48-51 ESV).

Today is one of the milestone kinds of days for our family. My oldest grandchildren are teenagers today! Happy Birthday to Faith and Logan! This picture was taken a while ago, and they have changed dramatically with just one year of growth and maturity. I chose to illustrate another truth. While they are beginning a faster pace of growth toward independence and adulthood, they are essential to God and his will as they are now. Serving God is not limited by their age or physical growth. One of the best known stories in the Bible is our reading today. It is the story of David and Goliath. When this story took place David was probably only 17 years old. In this reading we see David as an obedient son, a brave soldier, and, above all, a young man who fully trusted God. David was told by his father to take provisions to his brothers who were fighting in the Israelite army against the Philistines. When David arrived he heard the champion of the Philistines, the giant Goliath, blaspheming the name of the God of Israel. David could not stand that someone would speak evil of the Lord. He was surprised that the army of Israel was not doing something about the wicked threats against God. David presented himself before King Saul as someone who would go to fight Goliath one on one. David could not use the king’s armor that was offered to him because it was something he was not accustomed to using. Since David had battled lions and bears using his bare hands and a sling, he figured he would do the same with Goliath. David chose 5 smooth stones from the riverbed and rushed to fight Goliath. With a single stone he was able to knock the giant to the ground. Then David took Goliath’s own sword and killed him by cutting off his head. It was an incredible victory. Faith and Logan haven’t had any battles with giants; however, they have the same power of God available to them for every moment of their lives. As they continue to grow, I am confident they will draw on that strength and achieve success in every circumstance. Their God will not let them down. He works for their good just as he does all of us who are his children. I pray you will be encouraged today to do the same!