Yesterday and the day before I shared some observations on David's encounter with Goliath with the idea that this is a story from which we can draw many lessons to equip ourselves and our kids to deal with adversity in God's strength.
Today we focus on 1 Samuel 17:38 - 40. Here, after Saul has agreed to let David confront Goliath - by the way, as you probably have observed, it is Saul, as King, who should have gone before Goliath rather than hiding as a coward behind whoever chose to take his offer. At any rate after Saul accepted David's offer he clothed him in his personal armor and sword. It did not work. David was not accustomed to Saul's armor. He had not, in the words of the text, tested it. He refused to go to battle with another's armor and weapons, rather he took with him what he knew, what he had used in the battles he had had to defend the flocks against the bear and the lion. He took those not in his own strength, but in the strength of the Lord.
There is more in this sequence than we have room in which to dwell. Focus on the issue of not going to battle with untested gear. That happens more than we would care to admit. Ephesians 6:10 - 20 reminds us that we are to take up the full armor of God, daily. It is not just when we think we need to deal with difficult issues, giants. Like David with his sling, we are to be intimately familiar with the armor because of consistent, daily use. All of it is important, but the offensive weapon, the one with which we attack the enemy is the Word of God. We cannot expect to deal well with the challenges we face in life if we are not intimately engaged in and with the Word daily. Not just reading or hearing good messages. Wrestling with the text. Struggling with the difficult passages. Learning to wield it effectively in conversation with both believers and non believers.
I have seen far too many well meaning believers launch into the fray, not knowing how to wield the Sword of the Spirit. The results are not good. Do not be one of them. Engage.
There is more in this sequence than we have room in which to dwell. Focus on the issue of not going to battle with untested gear. That happens more than we would care to admit. Ephesians 6:10 - 20 reminds us that we are to take up the full armor of God, daily. It is not just when we think we need to deal with difficult issues, giants. Like David with his sling, we are to be intimately familiar with the armor because of consistent, daily use. All of it is important, but the offensive weapon, the one with which we attack the enemy is the Word of God. We cannot expect to deal well with the challenges we face in life if we are not intimately engaged in and with the Word daily. Not just reading or hearing good messages. Wrestling with the text. Struggling with the difficult passages. Learning to wield it effectively in conversation with both believers and non believers.
I have seen far too many well meaning believers launch into the fray, not knowing how to wield the Sword of the Spirit. The results are not good. Do not be one of them. Engage.
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