Thoughts: Hannah's Blog

        From the title you would’ve guessed what it is all about. Yes, it is about David, the Shepherd boy and the giant Goliath, the champion of the Philistine army. (The incident can be found here) David who tends his father’s sheep goes to the battlefield to meet his brothers who are in the army. He overhears Goliath challenging the Israelites and defying the God of Israel and David wants to do what no one in Israel dared to do – he wants to fight him!

        While I do appreciate his courage and bravery, there are some things which stand out in this narration. The contrast between them is so great – we see that Saul the king of Israel says “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.” Even Goliath sees David from a distance and despises him “he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome” He might have thought it as an insult that a mere boy has chosen to fight against him. From a worldly perspective, we see that David is no match for Goliath.

        Let us see what David’s perspective is. When the Israelites heard Goliath, they were all dismayed and terrified. To them, Goliath was a Giant who looked so big and terrifying – with his bronze armor, shield and spear, but David’s reaction was “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” If we keep looking at how big our problem is, we will keep getting dismayed but if we focus on God, we will know that the giant is nothing but an uncircumcised Philistine.

        Next thing that stood out for me was the recounting of his past experience of how he killed a lion and bear when they tried to attack his sheep, he treats Goliath on par with them and says “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” He realized that his strength was in the Lord and he trusted that it was God who delivered him in the past and he will deliver him now. Whenever we face any trying situations it is good to look back and see how God has delivered us in the past and place our trust in God to deliver us no matter what the situation is now.

        “Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around…” Now before going to fight, David is being made ready with the king’s set of arms but David says “I cannot go in these because I am not used to them” which is very true, as he was just a shepherd boy. So he decided to move on with those he had practicein – a staff, a sling and some stones. Those were the things he used when guarding the sheep, he was used to that (and that was all was needed). It might seem like he is not well equipped, even Goliath said “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” but look at David’s confident reply “You come against me with sword and spear… but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty,… it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s…” It is not by what kind of tool we have to win the battle but God can deliver you with what you have already been practiced in.

        If you feel that you are not equipped to face the task at hand, that you don’t have the needed expertise, do not fear, put your confidence in the Lord, learn to see the situation from his perspective, recollect all the times that God has delivered you in the past, and go with the practice and strength that you have, for the battle belongs to the Lord and He will deliver!