Presented to River Street Cafe, 18 Aug 16 & 13 Jun 17
Read 1 Samuel 17:41-47
We all know the story of David and
Goliath about how a young man toppled a professional fighter and we know that
the battle belongs to the Lord but instead of the fact that the battle belongs
to the Lord, we often concentrate on how a young person with just a sling can
topple a well-armed soldier.
While it is true that Goliath was a giant,
between 6’9” and 9’9”, and he had the most advanced weaponry of his time, sometimes
in playing up Goliath we play down David a little too much. David is already a
warrior and, as a shepherd, he has a lot of experience with his weapon of
choice – the sling. And this weapon is a real weapon that real soldiers really
did use. An expert could fire a rock from a sling at over 100 miles an hour and
be deadly accurate: Judges 20:16 says that some men could even sling a stone at
a hair from a distance and not miss. This is not a child’s toy; it is a powerful
weapon that David chooses to bring into the battle.
David is not just a child; he is a powerful
tool that the Lord chooses to bring into battle. So then part of the miracle of
the Lord’s victory is NOT the fact that David is good with a sling but part of
the miracle could be that the Lord conceals this sling from Goliath until it is
too late (notice that in Goliath’s taunts there is no mention of the sling –
only of the David’s rod); therefore it appears Goliath – even with his superior
technology - is ill-prepared to face the opponent and why? Because the battle
belongs to the Lord. Goliath and David’s speeches make that quite clear. This
isn’t a contest of two men who serve different gods; this is a contest of two
gods (one real and one imagined), who have as their weapons, different men. The
battle belongs to the Lord.
In our own lives this is true and I think
that we too often forget that the battles we have before us actually belong to
the Lord as well. When we are faced with life’s battles, do we just strap on
the amour that society offers us - our own abilities, education or experience -
like the amour that Saul offered David and try to fight on our own strength? God
has given us our experiences and ablity and they are indeed as formidable as a
stone in David’s sling but only if we remember that it is the Lord’s battle,
not our own. We need to seek Him because, indeed, life’s battles do belong to
the Lord.
David says to his foe, “This day the LORD
will hand you over to me…and 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; for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give all of you into
our hands.”
This is the same for us. We can have experience
that is the equivalent of the king’s armour. If we don’t use it for God it
really is useless. We can have education and as much money and as a superpower
spends on weapons. It means nothing if we don’t remember that the battle
actually belongs to the Lord and so let Him fight it.
As this is all true, I implore us to
remember that life’s battles belong to the Lord and He can deliver us from
ANYTHING. So then let us load up our slings with the stones of skill and experience
but let’s do so in faith, remembering that no matter how difficult life’s
challenges are; no matter how big are the struggles and the Goliaths in front
of us; no matter what seemingly insurmountable difficulty we are facing today –
as we turn to our Lord, He will be be victorious for indeed the battle does not
belong to us, the battle belongs to the Lord.
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