There was never a hint of fear as David aimed his sling at Goliath’s forehead. The stone penetrated into the giant’s forehead which caused him to fall down. David then took the giant’s sword and cut off Goliath’s head.
How did David got the courage to do this? To think, he was not a member of the king’s army. He was there because he was asked by his father to bring food for his brothers who were there for forty days to fight with the king’s army. The battle lasted that long as no one would want to face the giant for the fear of being killed.
David kept on asking the men as to what the reward may be if ever someone would kill the giant, until the king heard him. The king discouraged him because he was young and inexperienced. But David boldly related to the king how he killed lions and bears just to protect his sheep. Saul then approved that David would face the giant.
David faced the giant without sword and armor for it were too heavy for him to carry and he was not used to it. He boldly declared that when it is God’s will to deliver the enemy unto his people’s hands it requires no sword or spear. Eventually, he defeated Goliath.
Is David’s story applicable to the modern times? Absolutely.
Key Points:
- David was trained in solitude. He was there all alone tending his flock because he was a shepherd. In solitude his character was formed. The solitude makes us face our self, our longings, our deeper issues. When all our issues are resolved, our character is strengthened. It is in solitude too, that we find God.
- David grew up in obscurity. Men and women of God, servant-leaders in the making, are first unknown, unseen, unappreciated, and unapplauded. In the quiet context of obscurity, character is built. Today, with the advent of social media we may be seen and known, but when our purpose for being here is to gain popularity, we are not best qualified as God’s personnel. It requires time to build a character and credibility.
- David lived a life of monotony. It is being faithful in the menial, insignificant, routine, unexciting, uneventful, daily tasks of life. Life without a break… without vacation in white sand beaches or a travel to famous places. Just plain life, constant, unchanging… with nobody else around to notice or to care. This one is a big challenge for us today. For every suggestion of ‘successful’ people, we tend to follow. Everything becomes a sensation. We do things because it is popular and we want to ride with the tide. We come to believe that our value lies in the number of Likes, Shares, or Follows in our social media account. We do things differently to avoid monotony.
- David was disciplined in reality. He lived in his real world. He killed lions and bears when no one was looking. He did it because he was a responsible shepherd. Here, we are called to be real that we may defeat every lion and bear that would hold us prey. This is a reality that urges us to stand firmly on our ground and not let other’s twisted notions and convictions to sway us away from our right path.
- David was confident. He believed he could slay the giant which he eventually did. Confidence is what the modern gurus teach us to acquire. They are right. No one could face life’s battles without the right amount of confidence.
- David used his skills and the right weapon that fitted him to kill the giant, instead of the weapons and armors of the trained army. ‘This is what the experts do and use, you must use it too.’ Sounds familiar right? In our modern times, we tend to follow the expert in order to become an expert. There may be nothing wrong with that as we do ‘need’ mentors in one way or another to get ‘there.’ What we must be aware though is the reality that we have different skills and we have different calling. We need to learn the specific skills for our specific calling.
- David had great faith in God. He believed God would deliver the giant unto his hands. God did. This we must always remember. If there are giants looming before our path, we need to possess that great faith that God would deliver those giants unto our hands. We need not only the skills, but also the faith.
May we be able to slay all the giants that challenge us along the way.
Purposive Writer 