45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Armies, the God of the ranks of Israel—you have defied him. 46 Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, remove your head, and give the corpses[j] of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the wild creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, 47 and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us.” (1 Samuel 17:45-47 CSB)
The classic Bible story of David and Goliath. If you are unfamiliar with it take some time to read this whole chapter from 1 Samuel. It is a story of the little guy beating the big guy, but more importantly it is a story of how we may fight a battle but the outcome is up to God.
We do not always win today. Bad things happen to good people and this can be hard to reconcile when we think about a loving God. But we have to remember we are living in a fallen world and not every negative outcome is about us. Some times, like with Job, it is wholly about God, even if we are caught in the crosshairs.
David’s story, however, is all about God winning. It is about David’s unwavering faith in the face of a giant. Remember, at this time, David was just a boy. But he showed more courage and faith than the whole army behind him. He did not face Goliath with spear or sword. He even tried on armor but it was too heavy for him. So he faced him alone and with but a sling and a stone. But David was not alone. David had the strength of the Lord on his side.
We too can face our giants in the same way. We can face them with a courage and faith that God is on our side.
