Pick Up Some Extra Stones

Pick Up Some Extra Stones

by Pastor Jim May

One of the most familiar stories found in the Bible is the story of David and Goliath. It’s a story that all of us learned in our earliest days of Sunday School, and it is still a favorite story told to those in our Nursery and Children’s Church. It is a wonderful story of faith and trust in the power of God to deliver us in times of great distress.

But there is something about that story, a seemingly small detail, that is often overlooked. It is that little detail that I want to dwell upon this morning, for I believe that there is much to learn, even from the smallest events of the Bible.

I’m sure you know the story of David and Goliath. But just in case your memory is short, let me recap it for you quickly.

In the Book of 1 Samuel, Chapter 17 we will find this story. The Philistine Army has formed into a battle line in the area known as the Valley of Elah. In this valley there were hills and hollows and upon these hills we find the camps of two opposing armies, facing off against one another. The Philistines had invaded Isreal and King Saul’s army of Israel was there to stop them, but there was a problem. King Saul had long ago lost his nerve and his faith in God. He sat in his tent in fear and would not face the challenge of the Philistines.

Day after day, for 40 days, the Philistine champion named Goliath stood upon the hill in front of Saul’s army and defied them to fight him. He blasphemed the God of Israel and called Saul and his whole army a bunch of cowards who were afraid to fight.

(Have you ever had the devil bring accusations against you and you knew what he said was the truth? It’s hard to oppose the devil when you know he is lying, but it’s much harder when you know he is right.) Saul didn’t have the courage to fight and he was not only the King of Israel, but he was the tallest man among them, and should have had faith that God was going to win the battle anyway, but he didn’t. He sat in his tent, sticking cotton in his ears so that he wouldn’t hear Goliath as he taunted Israel.

What kind of leader was this Saul that Israel had chosen as king? He was a man that had started out fine but soon lost his way. He was a man that Israel had chosen in spite of the fact that God had said that Israel didn’t need a King because they had God Almighty as their leader and protector. Saul had fallen so far from God that he consulted with witches and mediums, looked for some way that he could “channel” through the powers of darkness to know the future because he could no longer hear from God through the hardness of his heart.

As the armies of Israel camped in front of the Philistines, they felt powerless and fearful in face of such a powerful foe. Then walks in a teenager by the name of David. David had learned to trust God in the fields while he tended the flocks of sheep. God had given him favor and David had already killed a lion and bear with his bare hands. He was not stricken with fear over some man, no matter how big he was because David knew that God was bigger than anything the Devil or man could bring against him.

The news of David’s arrival soon reached Saul and I can just imagine how it must have happened:

Into the tent came running the Captain of King Saul’s guards. “King Saul, King Saul, there is a young man here who has volunteered to fight Goliath, and he is a good-looking, strapping young man.”

Saul was so happy to hear of it that he nearly fell off his throne. “Well, get him in here. I want to see who this brave champion of Israel is.”

When David walked in I can just imagine how Saul’s countenance fell. The wide smile turned into a look of puzzlement. “You are just a kid, how do you expect to fight this giant of the Philistines. He’s over 8 feet tall and looks like a walking tank with body armor that weighs more than any man in Israel. He is going to kill you boy, don’t you know that. You are nothing but a shepherd and he has been trained to fight and kill all of his life. You won’t stand a chance.”

Have you ever had another Christians tell you that you were crazy for thinking the way that you do? How many times has the work of the Lord been hindered because there are those in the church who won’t believe God for anything and then do all they can to throw a wet blanket on the dreams and visions of others?