Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”
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. 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.”
As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
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.
(1 Samuel 17:41-50)
The story of David and Goliath was a major tale in Sunday School when I was a child. I was fascinated with the story of a man who defeated a giant with just a slingshot and a rock. My mind always skipped over the part where David states he could only destroy the giant because of God – David was a hero in his own right as far as I was concerned.
I have lived my entire life viewing myself as David in my story. Every obstacle I overcame was because I was David facing a mighty giant. I believed that I survived because of my own strength, grit, and determination.
A few years ago I ran into some medical issues. The doctors had no idea what was wrong with me and I did my best to live my life crippled and in agony every day. I spent some time praying about the issues but mostly lived in my head with a “woe is me” mentality. Then the doc ordered a slew of tests because they had read about something similar that was happening to me. I made the mistake of googling what these rare blood tests were for and saw that it was to test for pancreatic cancer markers. I was devastated. I immediately called my friends and family. I cried. It wasn’t until 4 or 5 days later that I remembered to talk to God about what I was going through! When I finally did, I felt a sense of relief and peace.
I tried to be David. I tried to be the hero. I tried to hold onto everything alone, be the strong one.
As I reflect back on that time of my life (I didn’t have cancer, btw), I see how I still struggle with needing to be strong. Not really for myself, but for my family and friends and community.
But I’ve realized I’ve looked at the story of David and Goliath completely wrong. See, I’m not David. None of us are David.
Jesus is David. It is with Him that we find strength. It is because of Him that we can push through. When we are in the darkest moments of our lives, we turn to Jesus for the support we need.
Jesus is David.
How does that change how you view the difficult times you’ve had in your life? How will that change how you view the difficult times you have yet to go through?
You are not David, my friends. Let go of the need to be the hero in your own story and rest in the knowledge that Jesus is fighting the battles for you. He’s glorifying God every moment of every day. He’s fighting the battles you may not even know about. Let go of your ego and rest in the knowledge that Jesus has your back. He’s prepared and able to fight every giant before you – you’ve just got to step back, give Him the reigns, and trust in his slingshot.