January 17: 1 Samuel 17:32-50
Key Verse: 1 Samuel 17:39
David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. ‘I cannot go in these,’ he said to Saul, ‘because I am not used to them.’ So he took them off.
Devotion:
Many times in our lives we will face people who will say we should not trust in God but trust in them or some other physical thing. Sometimes God will give you the strength to do something physical against an adversary and you will be surprised. Here David was led to the battlefield, not to join the army but to deliver food for his brothers; but he ended up fighting for the army!
David was not a warrior in the physical sense, but he was a warrior for God. His faith was firmly planted in God’s hands and he trusted God for everything. When he saw and heard what the Philistine was doing to the army of God, he was angry and wanted things to change so God could be praised. This was not something he wanted to do to show how strong he was or to show anyone up, he simply wanted God to get the glory instead of the philistines!
When Saul allowed David to go up against Goliath he gave David his armour and weapons. Saul was a big man so nothing would fit and all would be cumbersome; besides this would give glory to the weapons instead of to God.
David asserted his position as a child of God, without swords, spears or javelins, just God and God’s holy name! David gave this battle over to God and stepped forward to fight a foe for whom he was no match physically – but he was going forward with God as his guide and protector! David used a simple sling with a stone to defeat in God’s hands to defeat what nobody in the army was willing to go up against!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you really rely on God?
Will you give God more credit for things in your life?