Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
May 28, 2022
Read 1 Samuel 17:24-37
24 When the Israelites saw Goliath, every one of them ran away terrified of him. ( 25 Now the Israelite soldiers had been saying to each other: “Do you see this man who keeps coming out? How he comes to insult Israel? The king will reward with great riches whoever kills that man. The king will give his own daughter to him and make his household exempt from taxes in Israel.”) 26 David asked the soldiers standing by him, “What will be done for the person who kills that Philistine over there and removes this insult from Israel? Who is that uncircumcised Philistine, anyway, that he can get away with insulting the army of the living God?” 27 Then the troops repeated to him what they had been saying. “So that’s what will be done for the man who kills him,” they said. 28 When David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the soldiers, he got very mad at David. “Why did you come down here?” he said. “Who is watching hose few sheep for you in the wilderness? I know how arrogant you are and your devious plan: you came down just to see the battle!” 29 “What did I do wrong this time?” David replied. “It was just a question!” 30 So David turned to someone else and asked the same thing, and the people said the same thing in reply. 31 The things David had said were overheard and reported to Saul, who sent for him. 32 “Don’t let anyone lose courage because of this Philistine!” David told Saul. “I, your servant, will go out and fight him!” 33 “You can’t go out and fight this Philistine,” Saul answered David. “You are still a boy. But he’s been a warrior since he was a boy!” 34 “Your servant has kept his father’s sheep,” David replied to Saul, “and if ever a lion or a bear came and carried off one of the flock, 35 I would go after it, strike it, and rescue the animal from its mouth. If it turned on me, I would grab it at its jaw, strike it, and kill it. 36 Your servant has fought both lions and bears. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them because he has insulted the army of the living God. 37 “The LORD,” David added, “who rescued me from the power of both lions and bears, will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.” “Go!” Saul replied to David. “And may the LORD be with you!”
Good Morning, The Lord is with us as Christ promised.
David shows us great faith in God when he offers to fight Goliath. He was just a boy and had no obligation to volunteer for this unimaginable task. Imagine offering to accept the task that the seasoned soldiers couldn’t face. These were men who had faced many challenges in battle, yet this Philistine scared them.
On an interesting side note, I find the conversation with David and his oldest brother, Eliab, amusing. What purpose does it serve? We definitely see some sprigs of jealousy by Eliab who was most likely annoyed when David was anointed instead of him.
Let’s see how we would handle this call to fight Goliath. Goliath represents a huge challenge as indicated by his size and stature. He is not just a distant problem, Goliath is “in the faces” taunting the Israelites. Would we rush up and volunteer, or would we try to fade into the crowd hoping to be unseen? David shows unwavering faith as he offers to face Goliath. Even when others try to dissuade him, he continues.
God is with us always! When we face challenges that seem insurmountable, God is there to show us the way. Most of us have Goliaths in our lives. Some may take the form of a person or an event, but most present themselves as personal struggles. Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Philippians 4:13
Finally, David teaches us that all we need to “fight” any battle that appears before us is provided by God. 13 Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, Ephesians 6:13-14
Loving and Gracious God, Thank You for loving us. Each of us faces our own Goliaths. Help us to don ourselves in the full armor of God as we enter each day. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: I will not be intimidated by any situation because God is by my side.
May God’s truth be upon you! Pastor Liz
Very timely