Issue 24 - July 2006

David and Goliath

Michael A. Verdicchio

Almost everyone knows the story of David and Goliath. You can read it in I Samuel 17. There is a verse in that record that I think is one of the greatest verses on complete trust in God.

I Samuel 17:48:

And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 

David ran at Goliath! He wasn’t just trying to see if a sling and a stone would work. He wasn’t hiding behind a rock saying, “Well, I’ll try a stone or two and if that doesn’t work I’m heading back home! Not at all. After Goliath taunted him and cursed him and came toward him, David ran right at him!

What confidence in God! What trust he had! What absolute conviction!

For David, in this situation, there was no turning back. There was absolutely no exit strategy. There was no back up plan. Instead, David completely trusted God.

One must understand that this was not just some wild idea that David came up with on his own. David had the spirit of God. Having a Biblical understanding of the spirit of God is a big key to seeing that it was not David’s idea, but rather it was God’s idea. God gave David revelation – He gave him information on how to take out Goliath. David then had free will to accept that information and to act on it. What is so wonderful to see in this record is David’s absolute acceptance of the information that he received from God.

Now this is completely different from people who decide on their own to do something and then demand of God that He help them to do it. That is not at all what happened here. David is not acting on a quick foolish plan. He has confidence in God. When Saul tried to tell David why he wasn’t able to fight Goliath, David told Saul where his confidence was.

I Samuel 17:33-37:

And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 

And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 

And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 

Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 

David said moreover, The LORD that 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 unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.

David wasn’t concerned about the size of Goliath. He wasn’t interested in the odds. He was simply confident in information that he received from God. He had experience in seeing the power of God manifested and he was confident in God bringing him victory. How confident? He ran at Goliath!

But why David? Why not Saul? Why not one the military generals. Why did God show the solution to David? If you read the record you will see that David is the only one who brought God into the equation. David is the only one mentioned who saw this attack as an attack on God. David is the only one who allowed God to be a part of this situation!

We too often see the circumstances that we are faced with and then we look to our own resources. It is not your sword and spear. It is not your great intelligence. It is not all your great experiences and talent. It’s not your bank account.

IT IS WALKING WITH GOD AND ALLOWING GOD TO WORK IN YOU!

All of our resources are wonderful. But, if it was just your resources, then whoever has the most resources will be the most victorious!

David went up against someone with a lot more resources than he had – size, equipment, experience – a warrior since he was little. But David had experienced God working with him – the lion and the bear. David knew that with God’s help, it didn’t matter how big Goliath was.

There is no comment by David on Goliath’s size. David is concerned about the armies of the One True God being defied and being cursed by this uncircumcised unbeliever!

In our lives, do we want to look at the size of the problem; the complexity of the circumstances; the odds against us? Instead we ought to look at what God has revealed to us, first in the Bible, and then additional information that He reveals to us in specific situations.

We too can trust God!