God Uses Who You Are

Have you ever felt as though you don’t quite know where God wants to use you, and you often feel awkward where you’re presently serving? Perhaps it’s because you’ve been pushed into an area of service that doesn’t suit how the Lord has made you and equipped you, and who you really are inside.

This morning, we’re going to discover how every believer is uniquely made (Ps 139:14), and that each has a special place where they fit in the Lord’s kingdom service. Once we understand how we’re created, then we will be able to find our purpose and calling. And when we come to understand that God can use who we are in Christ, we’ll acquire the confidence to become truly effective for the Lord.

In our message, we’ll look at the account of David and Goliath; and as we do, we’ll learn something that will provide us with confidence in serving God. However, before we begin, I would like to share some of the background information obtained from the beginning verses of our chapter.

Saul and Israel had come face-to-face with the Philistine army at a place called Sochoh (1 Sm 17:1). The Bible says, “The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them” (17:3). The Philistines possessed a champion fighter in their army, and his name was Goliath (17:4). He was “way taller” than any averaged size person; so tall that he was called a giant. Goliath stood before Israel and shouted:

Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants (1 Samuel 17:9).

The Bible says, “When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid” (1 Sm 17:11). Goliath went out every morning and evening for forty days, challenging someone from the Israelite army to fight him, but no one would come out (17:16); that is, until David, and he wasn’t even a soldier in the Israelite army!

The Lord Specially Equipped David (vv. 32-37)

David was able to challenge Goliath because he knew who he was in the Lord. He refused to allow the opinion of others to keep him on the sidelines. David knew he had the Spirit of the Lord upon Him (1 Sm 16:13), and that by the Holy Spirit he could overcome any obstacle by God’s grace (Zec 4:6-7). In defense of his capability, David expressed his special equipping from the Lord. Let’s look at verses 32-37:

Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”

But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.”

Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” (1 Samuel 17:32-37).

According to the text, David was only a youth (1 Sm 17:33); however, this young man declared, “Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine” (17:32). For someone who was just a teenager, he was incredibly confident in the face of this warrior giant.

Some people would have seen David’s declaration as youthful stupidity and arrogance; however, what he was showing was confidence. David was confident for who knew “who he was” and “Whose he was.” He knew the way he had been fashioned, and was well aware of the skills that had prepared him; and he knew Whom he worshipped and Who was responsible for his preparation, which was the Lord of heaven and earth.

Even though David was confident in what God had given him, we see how King Saul only looked at David for what he “didn’t” have, instead of what he “did” have (1 Sm 17:33). David possessed a special set of skills bestowed by the Lord, some given even before birth (cf. Job 31:15, Jeremiah 1:5).