David and Goliath. A common enough story we’ve all heard before. A thrilling action adventure tale with a plot everyone loves. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy a good underdog hero triumphing against the odds? I would have liked to see the odds in Vegas when the fight was announced. “Goliath, giant of a man vs. David, shepherd boy.” Most of us would have thought the fight over before it even began, the end result being David knocked out in round one, death by superior weaponry skills, crushed by the greater physical mass of his opponent. But it doesn’t end the way expected, the foregone conclusion everyone is resigned to accept. For rather than being defeated David wins in a most unassuming and surprising way. The kind that makes us tilt our heads to the side and say “That wasn’t possible!” Or “What were the odds of that happening?” But makes us cheer and be glad that the little guy won!
But here’s a little interesting note on our underdog hero, David did not see himself that way. This shepherd boy was not fighting a losing battle, but rather one he had every confidence on being victorious. And here’s why. 1 Samuel 17:45-46a “David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands.'” David was brave and fearless because he had unshakable faith and trust in God. Listen as he boldly proclaims in v. 47 “All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you all into our hands.” Is it any wonder that the Bible calls David a man after God’s own heart?
David really wasn’t an underdog fighting against the odds, rather he was a man after God’s own heart who was confident in victory. I wonder if we can do that? Boldly face the Goliaths of our lives with the faith that God will follow through and direct our stones to their target?
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