Re:Verse passage – 1 Samuel 17:38-51 (day five) “This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you.”
What David did was incredible. No doubt about it. Killed Goliath with a sling and a stone. We know from reading 1 Samuel 17, that what actually happened was that God used David to kill Goliath. VS 46.
The biggest battle David fought (that day and often) was his inner fear (that the Israel armies had succumbed to). To them, Goliath seemed larger than God (fear). To David, God was larger than Goliath (faith). So, where did David’s faith come from? I believe it came from “repeating and remembering”. Repeating God’s promises. And remembering God’s power. Something the Israelites failed to do. Just 3 chapter earlier in 1 Samuel, many of those same soldiers saw God use Jonathan to defeat a Philistine garrison. Yet, they forgot. That experience had left their minds. Not David. He repeated God’s promise (anointed as king) and remembered God’s power (bear and lion). It was a constant battle and discipline for David. Read the first 25 Psalms. Fear creeps in. David prays (repeats and remembers). Finds faith. Should be for us too. Daily repeating God’s promises found in scripture. Remembering God’s power working in, around, and through us.
Being thankful to God helps shape these disciplines. When we can’t be reminded of God’s promises and God’s power, we most likely are in a place of great despair and fear. (Israelite Army) We should learn from David’s example. We find faith and courage. For the Glory of God!!
