David was able to overcome Goliath even though he was smaller, younger, untrained and inexperience. He wasn’t terrified because he was not focusing on the giant.
• We need to WATCH WHAT WE ARE LOOKING AT because whatever we focus on affects us. We are easily overwhelmed because we tend to BELIEVE what we see.
• Pause and reflect. REFOCUS and see things from a spiritual perspective.
If God is present and still in control, then DO WHAT YOU POSSIBLY CAN.
• God prepares us for the challenges of life. God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. (cf. 1 Cor 10:13)
• God will not lead you to where His grace cannot sustain you. So don’t look at what we do not have. Think of what God has given us.
Offer to Him our best. Don’t have to be someone you are not, or try to fit into someone else’s armour. Take what you have and use them for the glory of God.
David showed us that he knows very clearly where his strength lies.
3. REMEMBER WHERE YOUR STRENGTH LIES
At least three persons taunted David in this chapter. That’s everybody actually.
• One is his oldest brother Eliab (17:28-29). “Why have you come down here? You don’t belong here, you are supposed to be looking after the sheep. How conceited you are…” (He has already forgotten about the loaves of bread that David brought from home).
• Two, King Saul: “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.” (17:33)
• Three, Goliath. He despised him and cursed him (17:43). “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?”
No one supported David. No one encouraged him. Imagine you are trying to get something done and everyone around you thinks and says that you are not up to it.
It reminds me of the story of the TWO FROGS. (Pretend that you have not heard it.)
A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. It’s impossible for them to get out.
The two frogs jump and jump with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to give up, it’s no use. They were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs was so discouraged he gave up. He fell down and died.
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. The bunch of frogs kept yelling. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. Everyone was surprised.
After catching his breath, he said, “Thanks, thanks for cheering me on!” The frog explained that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the whole time.
None of these discouraging remarks gets to David. He wasn’t really disturbed.
• The words seek to draw his attention to himself – “Look at you!” That’s precisely the ‘problem’ – David wasn’t thinking about himself.
• This whole challenge has nothing to do with him; it’s about the glory of God.
Listen to what David says to the Philistine: 1 Sam 17:45-47
45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear 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. 46This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47All 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 all of you into our hands."
David wasn’t bothered by what people say because His confidence is in God, not in himself. If it’s not about me, then everything you say about me is quite irrelevant.
• David’s confidence is in God and in God alone, not even in his sling and the stones (even though he is really good at using it and can boast about it).
• He thought nothing about himself or his skills, nothing about the armour or sword or battle plan. Just God and God alone David trusts.
And he is not being presumptuous. He trusts Him because God has proven to be faithful and true. He has past experience to prove it, when he fought the lion and the bear.
• 17:37 “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
• God is faithful. That is our trust. He has not change and He will not change.
REMEMBER WHERE YOUR STRENGTH LIES! The battle belongs to Him.
Watch what you are focusing on, do what you possibly can, and remember where your true strength lies.
4. LET THE GLORY OF GOD DRIVES YOU
The courage to fight giants will come, not from your fleshly passion, but from the desire to honour God’s Name.
• We persevere because we want the Name of the Lord to be honoured and glorified in the midst of the trials and tribulations that we go through.
• We want the world to know that God is our strength and hope and He can be trusted.
Throughout this entire event, we can tell what David was preoccupied about.
• His very first words: 17:26 David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel?”
• Who is going to REMOVE THIS DISGRACE? Why isn’t anyone coming forward to do this?
• David was determined to do it. And he convinced Saul to let him do it.
17:36 “Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.”
• David did not think of Goliath as being different from the lion and bear that came to attack his father’s flock. To him, they are the same.
• “You’re coming against my father’s flock, I will fight you. You are coming against God’s flock, I will take you down.”
• Goliath is simply another predator trying to destroy God’s flock, Israel.
God is going to show up, in an amazing way. Actually, if we take a closer look at what really happened in this fight, you can see how God turned the table around.
• Our first impression is that David is the UNDERDOG – because of his size and all.
• But actually, the sling and the stone turned out to be his strength and not weakness. His small size is an advantage and not a shortcoming.
Picture this, huge Goliath with his heavy helmet, armour, javelin and spear he has on him. He wouldn't be moving fast, obviously.
He has to look down from that height to see small David. And to hurt him, Goliath has to come very near.
That’s what we noticed here: 17:41 “Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David.” 17:44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” Two times he asked David to come near.
Some scholars even think that he has eye-sight problem, because he says to David, “Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks?” (17:43) when David only has a staff in his hand.
So you have this very clumsy giant, in actual fact.
What about David? He is small, young and agile. Being a slinger is his great advantage. He can strike from afar. He does not need to come near.
• You see, he is small and can stay far to strike. Goliath is big and needs to get near to strike. Goliath is an easy target for David.
• Author emphasized: “So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.” (17:50)
At the end of the day, the giant is not as great as it seems. The problem is not as big as it looks.
• Don’t let the evil one fools us into thinking we are weak and defeated.
• If God is for us, who can be against us? (cf. Rom 8:31) Our trust is in God.
There is nothing wrong with methods – whether sword or spear or stones – as long as our trust is in God. Victory comes from Him, not slick methods.
• No matter how effective methods are, we must not allow them to draw our attention away from God. There is no magic formula. The power lies with God.
• Our faith honours God, not methods or means. And God honours faith, not methods or things. Where is your faith, He will ask; not what method did you use.
David achieved what he set out to do. And what exactly is that?
• He said, “the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves…” (17:46-47)
• David wants the people to KNOW God and TRUST God.
The great composer Johann Sebastian Bach wrote many great musical pieces glorifying God. He says, “All music should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the soul's refreshment; where this is not remembered there is no real music but only a devilish hubbub.”
To keep that realisation at the forefront of his thinking, Bach headed his compositions with this initials "J.J." which stands for "Jesus Juva", meaning "Jesus help me." And he ended them with "S.D.G." which is the Latin phrase "Soli Dei gloria" meaning "Glory to God alone."
Our response to life’s problems reveals what we really believe about our God.
• The world is watching. Let us point them to God. Let us point them to Christ. He is our Saviour, the only Saviour we can rely upon.
• Let them know that God is real and He can be trusted.
LET ME RECAP
1. Don’t look at your problems from a human perspective; see it with spiritual eyes.
2. Do what we possibly can, because He has prepared us for it. His grace is sufficient.
3. Our strength comes from Him, not the methods. Lean on Him and God can fulfils His purposes through us.
4. See whatever that happens as an opportunity for us to testify of His greatness and display His glory. Let our faith in God point people to Christ.
Fight the good fight of the faith. (1 Tim 6:12)
1. Watch what you are focusing on
2. Do what you possibly can
3. Remember where your strength lies
4. Let the glory of God drives you
