Re:Verse passage – 1 Samuel 17:38-51 (day six)
The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!- David, 1 Samuel 17:37
Tempered steel is so strong because it has been repeatedly heated and cooled just before its boiling point. This kind of stress on the steel hardens it beyond its original composition. David’s faith is like tempered steel.
I am amazed by David’s faith in God; his trust in God’s provision. This faith didn’t come by way of acquiring knowledge but by tempering. Over time, as a goat herder, he had increasingly entrusted himself to the Lord. Can you imagine the first time he had to defend his goats against a lion or bear? David had to decide at that moment, is God good for this? Each crisis put his faith under fire and strengthened it, hardened it for battle.
This made me wonder how often my faith is tested. Do I have a risky faith that heats it up just right before its boiling point? Do I allow my faith to be tempered, like David’s? If I am going to be hardened for battle in facing Goliaths, then I must entrust myself to him when I face the lions and bears along the way.
