What Was He Thinking?
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“As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.”
“David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword” (1 Samuel 17:48; 51).
What was he thinking? David not only dared asking about Goliath but volunteered to fight him? No wonder why Eliab, David’s oldest brother got angry and asked him to return to his home duties: watching over the family’s sheep in the wilderness.
All odds were against David. Goliath was an over nine feet tall giant who has been a warrior from his youth as stated by King Saul (1 Samuel 17: 33). If this detail was not enough, Philistine champion Goliath is described as ruthless and plain rude to his opponents, the Israelites (1 Samuel 17: 8-10).
In fact, the Israelites were so “dismayed” and “terrified” on hearing his verbal attacks that “for forty days, [Goliath] came forward every morning and evening and took his stand” (1 Samuel 17:16). I am not the best students in math (just ask my brothers :) but I know that forty days means 30 days (a month) plus 10 days! This sounds like an impressive amount of time for an individual to terrorize an army.
The spirit of fear obviously dominated the Israelite camp. Now let’s focus on David for a moment. David, the youngest of Jesse’s eight sons, is described as “ruddy” and “handsome” aka pretty boy with a swag. David vs. Goliath is like asking a 30-year-old to fight against his 10-year-old cousin.
In man’s standards, David was doomed to lose the fight. In God’s standards, it was not the case. In fact, Goliath’s rude comments and physical appearance did neither impress nor scare David. Actually, David made sure Goliath heard from him. There he goes yelling at Goliath:
“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. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 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” (1 Samuel 17: 45-47).
What a bold statement! At first, David presented his spiritual resume to King Saul in order to get the job by focusing on his past godly victories (1 Samuel 17: 34-37), then he informed his opponent about his reliance on GOD and finally took action (1 Samuel 17: 48-51).
We have a lot to learn from David’s godly boldness and his victorious attitude. Too often and too fast, we declared defeat when facing the goliaths of our lives. One of the reasons may be that we rely too much on ourselves and forget that the battle is not ours but GOD’s (2 Chronicles 20:15). Like David, we must run toward our Goliaths with a godly confidence. Above all, we must be strong and courageous, not afraid or terrified because of [our Goliaths], for the LORD [our ] God goes with us; he will never leave us nor forsake us.(Deuteronomy 31:6).
Questions: How are you responding to the Goliaths in your life? How was David able to be so fearless in the face of danger?
8 Responses to “What Was He Thinking?”
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Thanks for your insight Jessica! I was just reading the story of David and Goliath the other night and I wondered the very same thing…what was he thinking? But he was thinking only that God was indeed God and He was totally trustworthy!!
Dear Patrice: Thank you for your warm feedback. I agree with you that GOD needs to come first now and always in our lives. Acknowlegding our mistakes and shortcomings in your spiritual walk is the first step to complete freedom in Christ. I pray that the Lord be with you now and always. Let’s run after our giant(s) in Christ Jesus’ name!
“what was he thinking” is just a masterpiece. Thank you Jessica for point ing this out. More of us believers are myopic in terms of trusting God to the level David trusted Him. We more often profess strength and faith but succumb so easily when the reality of life comes knocking. We make God the secondary priority while trying hard to face the Goliath(the giant)on our own. But according to your wonderful piece, before David could even raise his hands to release his slingshot he yelled “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty…”. I believe we christians( believers) have alot to learn from David. God bless you and continue to grant you insight on the Goliath of today and how we christians(believers) can fight the Giant.
Dear Susan,Maddie,Donna and Andrea: Thank you for your kind words and your comments. I am blessed to know you were blessed after reading this post. Stay strong in the Lord.
Honestly sometimes the Goliaths get me down and I feel like giving up but then I remember that I am a child of a King fight like hell to shake them off! David was fearless during this fight because he knew who was in control on his life/destiny and trusted God to bring him out of whatever difficulty he found himself in. This is a reminder to me not to look at my Goliaths but to keep my eyes on the Father!! Be BLESS!!
Thank you Jessica, encouraging for me too. You’ve given me a lot to think about today. “all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27b)
Thank You Jessica for encouraging me today. I prayed for God to speak to me this morning and I believe He just did through this devotional. God Bless you for blessing so many others!
Wow, Jessica! Thank you for the incredible reminder of God’s power and faithfulness! He is AMAZING! I have read again the scriptures which detail David’s victory over Goliath and it touched me in a new way. I am memorizing both 2 Chronicles 20:15 and Deuteronomy 31:6 and step out this morning with renewed courage and increased faith. Beautiful devotional. May God continue to use you to lift His children up!
Blessings
s