And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you put to death in the valley of Elah, is here folded in a cloth at the back of the ephod:take that, if you will, for there is no other sword here. And David said, there is no other sword like that; give it to me.
1Sa 21:9
David decided not to harm the anointed of God. But God had taken the anointing from Saul, and Saul had grown jealous of David. Even the women had noticed that Saul had done less in the war. David became their hero.
It is not the deed of a king to be the greatest. He is to be the greatest servant. He is to be an example for others, so they can grow past him in their fields of expertise and calling. A king is the father of a nation.
So David had to run. At that time, because of a Philistine embargo, there were hardly any weapons in all Israel. We later learn that only Saul and Jonathan, his son, had iron swords. David was looking for something to defend himself.
Years ago, David had fought his greatest fight. Being well prepared by the bear and the lion, he met Goliath.
Goliath was a giant, a giant problem. Saul had been elected king partly because he stood one head above all Israelites – a giant in a sense himself. But he did not rise to the occasion. Of course the gals were right and David was the greater hero – not only because of his good looks and young age.
David faced the nemesis of Israel, his biggest problem so far – and won.
And now, the weapon that was meant to kill him became his greatest weapon.
No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed.
Isa 54:17
When I look back in my life, I faced many struggles.
I think about my parents divorce and my relationship to my dad. I think about the accident of my son. Or about the assisted suicide of my mom. I could add many faith struggles – like empty pockets, learning to wait. Something every christian has to face.
Jesus once told his disciples about a stone:
Whoever stumbles on this Stone gets shattered; whoever the Stone falls on gets smashed.
Mat 21:44
He is talking about the kingdom and himself, the king of kings. Whoever out of free will throws himself on the rock will come out shattered, shaken, changed, but on whom the rock will fall because he refused to lay himself down as a living sacrifice, will surely die.
On a smaller scale, embracing the problems trusting the Lord to bring us through, facing the giants in our lives, will change us – and it will hurt! Man, will it hurt at times. But we know that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. And he never gives us too much to bear.
It is interesting that it is Christ that strengthens us. Christ – he the head, and we the body. We need a good company of brothers, a band of sons, a supporting body, and a father to get us through. Short – we need strong relationships not only with Jesus and the Father and the Holy Ghost. Paul tells us that the joints connect us, and we are the joints.
There is a time to mourn, but joy comes in the morning.
And there is a time to prepare. Without the lion and the bear, could David have done it? Without countless hours of practicing the sling shot? No. How do I know? Because he got his boldness, his courage from the knowledge that he is well able. That is what he told Saul.
How many times was I able to minister to people out of my experience. Because I knew that I knew it can be done. One can survive, and not only survive but come out stronger. I had lived through it. And people knew. They saw me do it. They heard the testimonies. They felt the authority. They saw the sword. The sword of Goliath.
David even killed Goliath with his own sword. David had the sword with him in the caves of Adullum, hiding from Saul, seemingly defeated. He had the sword with him fighting against the Philistines, living amongst them. He had the sword with him when he was pronounced king first by his own tribe, then by all Israel. Proclaimed what he had already been for so long – since that visit by Samuel – but now it was obvious to everybody. He wore the sword of Goliath. He wore the signs of battle and victory.
What the enemy meant for bad, God turned into good.
This is why James can say:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.
Ja 1:2
Let’s turn the schemes of the enemy, the circumstances of life into the very weapons of authority that help us overcome. And more important even: to help others to overcome. My greatest joy.
Ready? Tell me.