September 19, 2024 Wednesday
1 Samuel 17:32-37 (KJV)
And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
Lions, bears, and Goliath are no match
David Jacobs
No story in the Bible is more important to me than the story of David and Goliath. As a child, I would go to church with my parents and be forced to sit and listen to adults read the scriptures and give sermons that I could hardly focus on. I would take the Bible from the pew and read my favorite Old Testament passages: Moses calling down plagues on Egypt, Jonah and the whale, and most of all the story of a young King David. I would put myself in his shoes (or sandals) and think that I, too, could do anything if I believed it. If he, a young boy with the same name as me, can kill lions, bears, and Goliath, surely, I can do great things.
More important than the result of this battle to me is that David volunteered. He had no doubt what the outcome would be. His faith was so strong that he seemed to view the battle that nobody else wanted to fight was almost a foregone conclusion. It was not always easy for me to empathize with other characters in the Bible, but David was so human to me in many ways, but his confidence and faith in God never seemed to waver. His faith leads him to glory in his lifetime and his family to more glory than he could ever imagine. If he can do it, so can we!
Prayer
Almighty Father, your Heavenly Kingdom awaits all that have faith in you. Strengthen my faith, O Lord, for I, like David, hope to be a shining example to all that know me, an example of how strong faith is rewarded during this life and the next. You are my alpha and omega, you have delivered me from my trials, and you will deliver me through the next. In your holy name, I pray, Amen.