David and Goliath - Pt 3

This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to 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 saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand. (1 Samuel 17:46-47 ESV).

Today we continue with our reading from yesterday and add a few verses. It is clear that the root of David’s courage was his confidence in God’s promises and God’s power to fulfill them. In the preceding chapter, Samuel had informed David that God had chosen him to be the next king of Israel and anointed him with his brothers around him (cf. 1 Samuel 16:13). David knew God’s plan for him before he ever faced the taunts of the giant. H also drew additional confidence by remembering how God had helped him in the past (cf. 1 Samuel 17:34-36). This reality was David’s courage wellspring. He was not self-confident; he was God-confident. David believed that God would never break his promise. So he went out to fight knowing that God would give him victory over Goliath; and, when he did, the victory would demonstrate God’s power and faithfulness, not David’s courage. Courage is not an autonomous, self-generated virtue. Courage is always produced by faith, whether our faith is in God or something else. Courage is a derivative virtue. For the Christian, a lack of courage is always evidence of a lack faith in a promise of God. Some “Goliath” is looming larger than God in our sight and taunting us into humiliation. All we see is how weak and pathetic we are, and how inadequate we are to face him. Fighting him seems impossible, and the thought immobilizes us. All of us experience this fear. But faith made David more than courageous. When he heard the Philistine defy the living God and his army, it made David angry. Goliath’s taunts and accusations scorned God’s glory. And when no one stepped up to defend God’s name, it made God look weak. David would not tolerate that. And such should also be our response to every fear and “lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (cf. 2 Corinthians 10:5). Our fears are not primarily about us, even though they feel that way. Our fears are primarily about God. They impugn God’s character and call him weak, or non-existent. They defy God and his church. Make it your intention today to stand in the face of such fears and you will overcome them. Whatever you face, if God has already defeated our greatest enemy, how can any other stand before Him. We walk with the Lion of Judah at our side. Turn Him loose!