The Un-Series: Week 7 Day 6
1 Samuel 17:41-58 (NLT)
41 Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, 42sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 43“Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. 44“Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.
45David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”
48As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.
50So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. 51Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head.
When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. 52Then the men of Israel and Judah gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the Philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded Philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron. 53Then the Israelite army returned and plundered the deserted Philistine camp. 54(David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man’s armor in his own tent.)
55As Saul watched David go out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the commander of his army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?”
“I really don’t know,” Abner declared.
56“Well, find out who he is!” the king told him.
57As soon as David returned from killing Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. 58“Tell me about your father, young man,” Saul said.
And David replied, “His name is Jesse, and we live in Bethlehem.” (NLT)*
Everyone enjoys a good story where the underdog comes out on top. David seemed to be the poster child for the definition of an underdog, didn’t he? As we look back over this week’s devotionals, we see that first, David’s father Jesse, then his brother, then King Saul, and now Goliath all saw David as an incapable and inexperienced boy. In spite of all of this, David remained bold and confident in what he could do.
David followed what he knew in his heart; he believed what God said about him, not what man said. He didn’t allow Goliath’s size, ability, or words to hinder him because he knew what he was capable of with God on his side. David’s triumph over Goliath led to the greatest underdog story that has ever existed.
If there is an area of your life where you feel like an underdog, where you feel incapable because of what someone said about you, lay that lie down at the foot of the cross and take up God’s truth. With God, you are more capable than you know!