Today we are going to take a look at David.  He has come to bring some food to his brothers, and – more importantly – to get word on how they are doing for his father.  Imagine his excitement!  He gets to be away from the sheep for a day and gets to go to the front lines of the battle!  He gets to go hang with the warriors.  What young man wouldn’t think that was cool?

He gets there, and it’s not quite what he expected to find.  There is no battle, the warriors are just milling around on their hillside… talking.

David hears snatches of the conversation and his interest is peaked.  Apparently King Saul has made some pretty big promises to the man who will go out and face this Philistine from Gath.  Really big promises.  Like make him part of the family promises.

David is intrigued.  He is asking questions.  He is thinking about things…

²⁶Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?”

Eliab – David’s oldest brother – hears him asking questions and gets a little huffy.  David feigns innocence, but people have already heard what he was saying.

He actually seemed interested in fighting Goliath – and no one else had even considered it.

³¹When the words which David spoke were heard, they told them to Saul, and he sent for him.³²David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

³³Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.”

First, I would like to point out the attitude with which David goes before King Saul.  It is an attitude of humility.  David already knew enough about Saul to know that if he came in arrogance, he would fail.  If he walked in full of himself, he would be ignored.  But he came in with humility – “Your servant” is how he referenced himself to Saul.

And he didn’t call anyone else a coward… especially Saul.

Saul looked at the oung man standing before him and was a bit confused.  David was probably in the range of 16-22 now – having reached his full height, but I’m sure he hadn’t filled out much yet.  He was handsome, but he was not a trained warrior – far from it!  He was a shepherd.  A musician.  How could he fight against this man of war?  This GIANT man of war!

But David had a good argument.

³⁴But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock,

³⁵I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him.

³⁶“Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.”

³⁷And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine ” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the LORD be with you.”

Wow – this kid is claiming to have killed bears and lions with his bare hands.  Defending sheep is apparently a bit more challenging than I thought.  It’s not just sitting around all day playing the lyre and enjoying the idyllic countryside.  You actually do have to do things.  You actually have to fight against large animals.

Apparently it was a convincing argument.

Of course, he also claimed that the Lord would protect him.  That is the most important part of his claim – God was with him.  I’m sure Saul remembered what it felt like to have God’s presence with him, after all, the Spirit of God had been with Saul for some time – leading & guiding him as be began his rule.

So, Saul took young David at his word.

³⁴And David said to Saul, Your servant kept his father’s sheep. And when there came a lion or again a bear and took a lamb out of the flock,

³⁵I went out after it and smote it and delivered the lamb out of its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard and smote it and killed it.

³⁶Your servant killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God!

³⁷David said, The Lord Who 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 to David, Go, and the Lord be with you!

³⁸Then Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail.

³⁹And David girded his sword over his armor. Then he tried to go, but could not, for he was not used to it. And David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I am not used to them. And David took them off.

⁴⁰Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones out of the brook and put them in his shepherd’s [lunch] bag [a whole kid's skin slung from his shoulder], in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand, and he drew near the Philistine.

Saul set out to make David go to battle looking like he wanted him to look – and like everyone around him looked.  He put his own armor on David (which tells me that David must have been somewhat tall, as Saul was head & shoulders above most of Israel) and girded him for battle as a soldier.

But David was not a soldier, he was a shepherd.

David put on the armor and tried to walk around, but he couldn’t.  He knew that if he were to go out and attempt to fight Goliath in something that was so foreign to Him it would be nearly impossible.  So he took it off.

Instead he took the staff that he had come with and the sling that he used to fight off wild animals.  Along the way he stopped at the brook and chose five smooth stones to use.

He trusted God to be his shield.

He went with what he knew, he played to his strengths.

He was familiar with the staff and the sling.  They were weapons he had wielded before with success.  I’m sure he has played at swords as a child, but he was not trained in hand-to-hand combat with one.  And given Goliath’s size, well, hand-to-hand combat most likely would not go well for him.  I mean the guy was nearly twice his size!  His head was at the perfect height to be cleaved from his shoulders… not exactly a pleasant thought.

So he walked forward with the tools God had given him in the past, and trusted God to provide the rest.  He didn’t even have the stones when he headed down, but he knew that God would provide those too.

He had no armor, he had no shield bearer.  He had no sword.  But he did have God – and that made all the difference.

He walked forward with certainty and purpose and full of faith that God would prevail… and those who taunt God would be destroyed.

This week we will be studying the story of David and Goliath.  I am hopeful that we will be able to pull a variety of ideas from this passage to discuss.

Let’s dive in, shall we?

⁸He [Goliath] stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel and said to them, “Why do you come out to draw up in battle array? Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves and let him come down to me.

⁹“If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will become your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall become our servants and serve us.”

¹⁰Again the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together.”

Wow.  That sure was a mouthful.  Israel comes to defend their land against the Philistines (again), and they are taunted for even showing up!  Basically this guy is standing there asking them why the even bothered coming out – after all, they are just going to lose anyway.

Do you ever feel like that?

It doesn’t matter if I try to overcome _____________ (fill in your own blank), it’s bigger than me.  It’s more than I can handle.  I can try to fight, but I will just end up losing parts of me in the process.

But you show up.  You recognize the battle for what it is.  Then the taunts really start in.  “You can’t do this.”  “Don’t you see the opponent over there?  They are more powerful than you.”  “You are too weak to even enter into battle, why did you even show up?”

Ouch.

But I want to make sure you notice something hiding in the middle of verse 8.

“Am I not the Philistine and you servants of Saul?”

Um…

Well, not exactly.

After all, they were the children of Israel – servants of GOD, not Saul.

So not only is this guy berating them for even showing up, but he is ignoring God.  He is ignoring the fact that he is ragging on God’s chosen people, and thereby dissing God.

Stand back – lightning could strike at any time!

Here is an entire army worth of men who are under the protection of God, and they are letting the physical override the spiritual.

They are trusting their eyes instead of their faith.

This goes on for 40 days – they suffer through this large specimin of a man hurling insults to them day after day after day, and it’s beginning to take it’s toll.

They are discouraged.

They are afraid.

They are hiding from this giant of a man and believing the lies he is cursing them with.  Even Saul is cowering before Goliath.  He could order someone to go out and fight, but everyone is sure that it would mean certain death for whomever walks into that field.

They are not trusting God to protect them.  Instead, they have put their faith in Saul – and he seems terrified.  More than that, God has already left him.  God has already chosen a new king to replace him because Saul doesn’t trust in Him.  Saul trusts only in himself.

When we trust only in ourselves or those around us, we miss out on the blessing that comes through faith.  The blessing of God’s peace in the midst of trials, and the chance to lean into His strength and know that we are safe in His very capable hands.

The best part though?  Each time we trust in God, our faith grows stronger and we are quicker to trust in Him next time.

And there will be a next time.  There always is.

But God is always there.

The last post caught us up to 1 Samuel 16:1.

Samuel was grieving over Saul’s disobedience of God, and Saul had gone on his merry little way – not fully realizing the true consequences of his actions.

And then the Lord speaks to Samuel…

¹The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go.”

How often do we need God to say that to us?

Stop dwelling in the past and get on with it!  I have told you want to do, now go!

Samuel knew that God had rejected Saul as king.  He knew that Saul would be replaced.  But at the same time, he was sad that Saul had chosen to walk away from God’s will for Israel… and for him.

It is so easy for me to look at those around me and grieve over choices that they are making.  Choices that will lead to unpleasant consequences at the very least, if not their own ruin.  The hard part is to move on and let God deal with them in His way.  I want to help them!  I want to reach out to them and say “Hey!  Don’t you see what you are doing?  Don’t you see where this will lead?  You need to change direction!”

Sometimes God does call us to do that, but other times He calls us to move on.  To take the next step and get on with what He has placed before us.

The second half of the verse gets even better.

“I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”

Yay!  God is telling Samuel what the next step is!  He isn’t left floundering, wondering what he needs to do, where he needs to go.  God has laid out the path before him.

But… Israel still has a king, and Saul doesn’t want to be replaced, as we can see.

²And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.”

Saul no longer had respect for the Lord or his servant Samuel.  Apparently it was common knowledge that those who crossed Saul, well, let’s just say they didn’t double cross him.  Samuel heard what God commanded, saw the plan God had, but he also had fear of it.

But God comes through again:

And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ ³And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.”

God has a plan.  He has already thought through Samuel’s objections and questions – and provided the answer.

What is there in your life that God is telling you to move forward into?  Where is He leading you that you are afraid to go?  He will provide everything you need.  He has the answers you seek, and He will guide you.

That’s one of the great things about God – He promises that He will never leave us or forsake us.  His Word is the lamp to our feet and the light to our paths.

Seek His face.  Spend time asking Him your questions.  But don’t let those questions or your past stop you from following His will for your life.

Which Samuel did.

⁴Samuel did what the LORD commanded and came to Bethlehem.

What are you waiting for?  Get your supplies and go.

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” – Isaiah 26:3

Today’s verse for our church and the topic for the Word Filled Wednesday (anxiety) meshed together so well that I couldn’t NOT take part.

This week our church is studying passages on worry – and how we need to put our trust in God.

It’s some heavy stuff.

We live in a stressful world.  There really isn’t a way to escape stress completely, and it seems that more and more stress seems to find us in greater amounts.  How can we deal with this stress in a way that doesn’t kill us?

Our key verse this week is found in Philippians 4, and it is one of those verses that we have clung to in the past.

“⁶do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Do not be anxious about anything.

That’s how these two verses start out, and that in itself is a wizz-banger isn’t it!  How can we not be anxious in this world?  How can we not find ourselves stressed out and frazzled with anxiety when we don’t know where the next house payment will come from and the car needs to have $4,000 worth of work done so it will run and we need to find a job in an economy where no one is hiring and our loved ones are dying from horrible diseases like cancer and cystic fibrosis and our spouse works crazy long hours to provide for the family, but that means we never get to spend time with them, and our kids are growing faster than we realize and they are entering into a world where drugs and sex will surround them on a daily basis and we can only hope that we have trained them up in the way they should go, and… and… and…

That is the reality for so many of us.  Bills, work, putting food on the table, providing for our families, avoiding serious illness.  We all have these lists of worries and fears and areas that are causing stress in our lives.

How can God expect us to “be anxious for nothing” when that is the world we live in?

Pray about everything

Yes, that’s a loose translation, but it boils it down.  “but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” We need to bring our worries and stresses to God with thanksgiving! Yep, we need to be thankful in the midst of everything.

We need to be thankful that we have a house to live in.  We need to be thankful that the car is stuck in park and we cannot go out and spend money that we don’t have to spend anyway.  We need to be thankful that God has blessed us with these beautiful kids that we can pour His love into on a daily basis and send them out into the world so they can share it with those they come into contact with.  We need to be thankful for the job that is providing the paycheck that is paying the bills, and thankful for the time that we have to pour our lives into those around us while we aren’t working in a 9-5 job.  We need to be thankful for the precious moments that we can set aside to spend time with our spouse – and for friends that help make those moments multiply.

The key here is having an attitude of gratitude.  The key here is where your focus lies.

And while we are being thankful for the opportunity to learn from the experiences, we need to talk to God about them.  We need to pray and lift up these requests to God, to tell Him about what is causing us stress and bringing on fear and anxiety.  But we don’t pray for God’s benefit – He already knows.  We need to pray to remind ourselves that He is in control of our lives.  To remind ourselves that we can’t do it on our own.

We need God.  He is bigger than anything that life throws our way.

Take a look at that long list up there again.  That is my list right now.  I could very easily become so fearful and burdened by anxiety that I wouldn’t want to get out of bed in the mornings.  So overwhelmed by life that I can’t live it.  And that is just a partial list.

But I’m not.

I have chosen to not let those areas be the main focus of my life, because I know where that path leads.  Focusing on all of the areas of worry and causes of stress will only bring depression and fear into my life, and I want no part of those!

Instead I am choosing to focus on the good things that God has brought into my life.  I am choosing to be thankful for the blessings that He has poured out upon me.  Blessings of good friends and a loving church body that lifts and supports our family when we need it.  Blessings of a husband that willingly works at a job that brings with it a huge amount of stress and a high level of demand so he can provide for his family.  The blessing of a God that is bigger than anything that satan chooses to throw my way.

I am choosing to be thankful that God is my strong tower, the fortress that I can run into when I am under attack.

And the most beautiful part is what is promised in verse 7.  “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

God will take those worries and anxieties and stresses and replace them with His peace.  His peace will be the shield that surrounds your heart and mind and life.  And when we trade our worries for His peace, our lives are better.  We don’t get sick as often.  We don’t suffer from anxiety.  High blood pressure isn’t as much of a problem.  We are more healthy.