A Lesson From David

My devotional reading this morning was taken from I Samuel 17:32-51, the story of David and Goliath.  As I meditated on the passage I noticed down the side of the page I'd written the outline of a sermon preached some time ago by Pastor David Abbott:

David's Daring (32-37)
David's Equipping (36-40)
David's Winning (41-51)

David's Daring -- When the Philistine giant, Goliath, was terrorizing the Israelite army, David came to King Saul and offered to fight him.  His qualifications to stand before this giant?  He had killed both a bear and a lion with his bare hands.  He knew that the God who had delivered him from those beasts would deliver him from the Philistine who "defied the armies of the living God."

David's Equipping -- Saul dressed David in his armor but he was so uncomfortable in it that he couldn't even walk.   So he took it off and picked five smooth stones out of the stream, grabbed his sling shot, and went off to meet Goliath.

David's Winning -- The giant saw David and threatened to give his flesh "to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field."  David replied, "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... 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."  And with that, he let loose a stone to Goliath's forehead and the giant fell to the ground, dead.

Across the top of the page is written Pastor Abbott's Lesson from David: To see every situation from the standpoint of God's ability to cope with it, according to His promises.


As a family we are facing some giants just now.  I suspect you are, too.  Can you see them from the standpoint of God's ability to cope with them, according to His promises?  Of the hundreds of promises God has given us in the Bible, here are three.  Let them be to you reminders of the Lord's ability to cope with whatever situation you are facing today:

Joshua 1:9 -- Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.


Proverbs 3:5,6 -- Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.


Matthew 28:20b -- And surely I will be with you always to the very end of the age.