The (Not-So-) Little Battles Come First

Whenever I write a lesson on a Bible story I know well, I spend a lot more time in prayer. Not that every lesson doesn't require much prayer. But it's easy to be so familiar with a story that there is a danger of overlooking the new lessons the Lord may want to teach you. Because of this, I have been obsessed with and seeking God through the story of David and Goliath. Here's what I learned: The preparation David went through while tending sheep and worshiping God and serving the king went well beyond developing his physical ability to fight battles and lead people.

There were multiple mental and emotional battles David had to overcome before he could fight the physical battle against Goliath, and all of the other wars that would follow in the coming years. The first was his insignificance to his father. Not only did his father not think to include him in the anointing ceremony when Samuel came to town (1 Sam. 16:11), he also had no expectation that David could do any good on the battlefield. Jesse simply gave David the jobs of delivering supplies to his brothers and bringing back a report from the battle. Easy. No challenge. Something a young shepherd could handle. Low expectations.

He also had to overcome the jealousy and derision of his brothers. When he got to the battle lines and heard Goliath's challenge, the challenge that had been repeated for forty days, he naturally started asking questions. His brothers responded with anger and lies about David's character. This is a common response when people are jealous or feel threatened. Remember, David's brothers were there when he was anointed king, and they were part of the army that was afraid to fight this giant of a man. Instead of running home to dad, David simply turns his attention to those who would answer his questions.

King Saul's first reaction to David's offer to fight Goliath was to point out what David had lacking in size and stature. He even tried to put his own armor on David to increase his chances of success. Yet David stood confidently in his trust in the Lord and turned down the armor of a king who was willing to surrender his protection to a sure loser rather than step up and fight the battle himself.

Goliath, the enemy of God and Israel, scoffed at him and was offended that this army he threatened every day would send out this scrawny little shepherd by to fight him. Yet David looked him in the eye and accepted the challenge. Nobody who defied his God would scare him away from the job at hand.

Finally, the battle that strikes me the most because it hits closest to my heart, is that David was invisible. He was doing everything the Lord had given him to do, and he was doing it well. People valued the jobs he did, and they enjoyed to results, yet they didn't see David as a person with value in himself. He had been going back and forth between the sheep and King Saul, playing his harp, calming the king's heart, and even becoming one of his armor bearers. He had a face-to-face conversation with Saul about Goliath. Yet, after David had stood in faith and confidence in the Lord and defeated the giant, Saul had to ask who he was, who his father was. We can look back at chapter 16 and see that he had already been given that information. He had benefited from David's service. Yet he never SAW him. David was invisible.

But he was not insignificant, invisible, or too little to God. The God that knew David's heart knew there was no conceit or wickedness there. He knew that David stood in confidence only because he trusted in his God, in his relationship with God, and in the strength that only God provides, knowing that he could not win this battle on his own. He knew that David credited Him with all of his success and protection to this point, both from the lion and the bear as well as his promotion to the king's service. He also knew that David's anger against Goliath was a righteous defense of God's character. And God came through in a mighty way.

If David had given into any of those "little" battles of the mind and heart, he would not have stepped forward in faith. He would not have been privileged to see God work a miracle in battle and prove Himself to the army of Israel and their enemies. And he would not have played a part in the whole amazing thing. Whatever the battle you are facing today (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual), remember that every one of them prepares you for something bigger. If you can stand firm in truth and righteousness in the little things, you will be prepared t do the same for anything. David didn't just have a heart after God's heart in worship. His heart was bent to God's in battle as well. Is yours?