Early in the morning David left the sheep with another shepherd. He took the food and left as Jesse had told him. When David arrived at the camp, the army was going out to their battle positions, shouting their war cry. The Israelites and Philistines were lining up their men to face each other in battle.
David left the food with the man who kept the supplies and ran to the battle line to talk to his brothers. While he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out. He shouted things against Israel as usual, and David heard him.
And David heard him… Just allow those words to sink into your spirit for a minute. Can you hear anything?
Good morning friends. David’s story is one that truly inspires me. It’s a story that epitomise a beautiful tapestry interwoven with threads of faith, humility, courage, zeal, humility, wisdom, kindness, and passion. Each one radiating it’s own colour while complimenting the others. And like a true masterpiece, it has a cute element of imperfection; evident in the episode when his passion was misplaced. The same passion that made him stand out from the rest; sadly, was also his thorn in the flesh.
So, here lies the conundrum. Should we rise up and walk by faith in-spite of our weaknesses, or do we sit down and wait till those weaknesses becomes strengths? With this in mind, I am reminded of a line from one of the psalms:
I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
When we realise the truth behind these words, it changes everything dear friends. When we realise that it’s not just about us, when we realise God’s all sufficiency, when we catch a glimpse of the awesomeness of His grace and mercy; then our strength is renewed like an eagle. At this juncture, I am also reminded of the words of Paul in a letter to friends in Corinth:
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.
There is no mention of David’s mentor or teacher anywhere in the Bible, I’m not even sure how devoted Jesse (his father) was to God. In his early days all we are privy to is his extraordinary strength of character; demonstrated in his faithfulness to Jesse, and his commitment to the flock he was assigned to shepherd.
As I draw this thought to a close, let’s have another look at this line from our opening verses – I am still intrigued.
… and David heard him.
So, be mindful of what you hear, and be careful of what you say. Goliath spoke that day and he met his demise; David heard that day, and it led to a kiss with sweet destiny.
Out of all the conversations he had that day, this one just stood out for David. Thank God he recognised destiny on the day their paths crossed.
~ Sabali
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Much love,
Clem
Healingsprings fellowship 