“Then David’s question was reported to King Saul, and the king sent for him. “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”-1 Samuel 17:31-33
Upon leaving Eliab, David was taken to see the king When David told the King that he would fight the Philistine, Saul ridiculed him. He told David that he was too young and too inexperienced. David could have taken that to heart.
You better believe that the moment that you rise up in faith that there are going to be those who were too afraid to take the risk themselves that are going to ridicule you, question your maturity, and question your abilities. King Saul, although he wouldn’t fight Goliath, even tried to get David to wear his armor. He was basically saying, “I am not fighting him, but if I was I’d wear this armor.”
David could have considered Saul’s words and said, “You are right!” and walked away. He would have been defeated without ever having set his foot on the real battlefield.
More important than David defeating the lion and bear, before he faced Goliath, was his defeating the voices that day that were louder than Goliath. He overcame Eliab’s scorn and Saul’s ridicule and it’s a good thing, because the next voice he heard was the giant:
“Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.-1 Samuel 17:41-44
When everyone else responded in fear, David responded with the same faith as he responded to Eliab and Saul:
“David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”-1 Samuel 17:45-47
What silenced Goliath was not a stone to the forehead, but David’s declaration of faith. He faced Goliath by himself, but he was not alone. He understood and confidently proclaimed that the Lord was with him and going to win this battle.
Some of you are terrified of the giants that you are facing. You are paralyzed with fear. You were paralyzed the moment you came face to face with it, because you’ve believed the lie that Saul told David: “Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t possibly win. You don’t have the faith for it.” You have let people who feel passed over convince you that if they were not worthy enough, neither are you. If they were not brave enough, neither are you. We need to silence those voices today. If not, we will never face the real enemy.
Pastor Scott Burr
No comments:
Post a Comment