David and Goliath

1 Samuel 17

            David and Goliath. A classic story. To quote the musical Les Miserables, “It only goes to show what little people can do!”

            Except it’s not really about the power of the little guy; it’s not about the arrogance of strength. It’s a story about trusting the Lord. The key line in the story is verse 45-46, “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. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.’”

            Saul had lost his faith in God, or, at least, he seems to have been in the process of losing it. The army of Israel thought the situation hopeless. But little David said, “The Lord will give the victory.” And the Lord did.

            Listen, you’re the little guy in the fight against sin, death, and the devil. You can’t beat them. But you don’t have to. Your job is simply to say, “The fight is the Lord’s,” and to trust the God who sent His Son to die for you and who, by raising Him from the dead, knocked over those terrible giants as with a stone. The fight is the Lord’s.