⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine. (1 Samuel 17:40 ESV)

If you have ever spent any time in nature there is something so calming and comforting about finding a small smooth stone and just rubbing it. Walking and rubbing that smooth stone has a comforting effect. This is where we get “worry stones” from. It is something we do to take our minds off of what we are concerned about.

David also knew that these smoothie stones make great ammunition for a sling. I used to love to skip stones and finding one that was smooth and flat was just great. Those that would seem to just skim the water and skip across it’s surface for the longest time. However, David’s choice stone may have been a bit different. He was looking for something that would be perfect to fell the giant before him.

Sometimes we need to take some smooth stones, metaphorically, and face the giants that are in our lives. God’s word can be more comforting than a worry stone and sharper than a double edged sword against our giants. We also may find that we need to be willing to stand up for our God in the face of overwhelming odds when no one around us will. And if God is with us, who can stand against us.