I was listening to a message by Levi Lusko this morning that really grabbed my attention…
He took a passage or three from the life of David, which I know well, but never read in that context, but which is probably just as it happened.
When David faces off against Goliath, he first went and found 5 smooth rocks… I know that when I draw an arrow on a hunt, I pray that my aim is true, that my hand is steady and that my prey will not suffer… I can imagine him kneeling by the stream picking up his rocks and doing the same… this was, after all, a fight for the nation, not just a hunt for food. The stakes were a lot higher…
But regardless, before he faced of, he had some preparation to do… now here is the absolutely awesome thing… Picking up the stones was maybe the preparation for Goliath getting the stones was arming himself for the next thing… but what was Goliath for?
1 Samuel 17:50-51:
“…So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed 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…”
Awesome… rock against the head, grabbed his sword, and the deal is done…
But just a few chapters later, David is on the run. Saul wan’t him dead… very, very dead… He is on the run and has nothing, no weapons, no armour, no food… and ends up at the tabernacle. Where he ask Ahimelek for a weapon:
“…The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one.” David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
What if David never faced Goliath? I think God would still take him ons his path to kingship, but would Goliath’s sword still be there for him to use in a time of need?
Before going into “battle” I need to prepare, and what I win and learn in the battle, I can use later… We are now in a battle, but we can choose to either see it as a battle, or as a preparation. As a training ground where we can learn to pray, learn to strengthen our spiritual muscles, learn to see with Christ’s eyes, learn to feel the Holy Spirit, and learn to hear God’s voice.
It is difficult to put your faith in God if there are many avenues of support. But if you stand in front of an empty shelf and its the third shop you have gone to already, and there is nowhere else to turn, it is easy to put all your whole heart into a prayer.
Please take a few minutes and listen to this message by Pastor Lusko. He has a way with words that actually says what I am trying to express with my fumbling two finger typing!
