Liz’s Morning Devotional based upon Upper Room
October 10, 2021
Read 1 Samuel 17:24-49
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 those 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!” 38 Then Saul dressed David in his own gear, putting a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David strapped his sword on over the armor, but he couldn’t walk around well because he’d never tried it before. “I can’t walk in this,” David told Saul, “because I’ve never tried it before.” So he took them off. 40 He then grabbed his staff and chose five smooth stones from the streambed. He put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag and with sling in hand went out to the Philistine. 41 The Philistine got closer and closer to David, and his shield-bearer was in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked David over, he sneered at David because he was just a boy; reddish brown and good-looking. 43 The Philistine asked David, “Am I some sort of dog that you come at me with sticks?” And he cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said to David, “and I’ll feed your flesh to the wild birds and the wild animals!” 45 But David told the Philistine, “You are coming against me with sword, spear, and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel’s army, the one you’ve insulted. 46 Today the LORD will hand you over to me. I will strike you down and cut off your head! Today I will feed your dead body and the dead bodies of the entire Philistine camp to the wild birds and the wild animals. Then the whole world will know that there is a God on Israel’s side. 47 And all those gathered here will know that the LORD doesn’t save by means of sword and spear. The LORD owns this war, and he will hand all of you over to us.” 48 The Philistine got up and moved closer to attack David, and David ran quickly to the front line to face him. 49 David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone. He slung it, and it hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone penetrated his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
Good Morning! How Great is Our God?
Most of us remember the story of David and Goliath from our childhoods. When Saul dresses David in his armour, I am reminded of playing dress-up as a kid in clothes and shoes that were too big. It was hard to move around in these clothes that were not ours.
What if we consider for a moment how we present ourselves to others? Do we walk around as our authentic selves, or do we try to put on the “garments” of someone else just to impress the other person? It is very hard to pull off a charade of being someone you are not. At some point, the real you shows up and blows your act.
David approached his enemy as himself: No frills, no armour, just the tools of a lowly shepherd boy out to protect his sheep from the wolves. Because David truly believed his Lord would protect him, he was victorious. David’s great battle of good versus evil is a precursor to how Jesus would change the world.
Jesus was proclaimed by some as the “King of the Jews”, but Jesus did not come to live in an earthly temple or wear the robes and crown of an earthly king. Jesus taught all who would listen to love God and love your neighbors. He walked this earth as a servant of God ready to meet the needs of all God’s children. Jesus does not come to fight evil with a sword in his hand. He comes with the sword in his side as he lays down his life for all of God’s children so that whosoever believes may have eternal life. Hallelujah!
Loving God, Thank You for loving us. May we strive to present our authentic selves to all we meet, so that they may see and accept the love of Jesus. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Because my God is big, I can face anything.
We serve a mighty God! Stand up and rejoice! Pastor Liz
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