April 4, 2025

1 Samuel 17:50-58  (HCSB)
50 David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. Even though David had no sword, he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 51 David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword, pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they ran. 52 The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines to the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. Philistine bodies were strewn all along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron.  53 When the Israelites returned from the pursuit of the Philistines, they plundered their camps. 54 David took Goliath’s head and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put Goliath’s weapons in his own tent.
55 When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?”
“My king, as surely as you live, I don’t know,” Abner replied. 56 The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is!”
57 When David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand. 58 Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?”
“The son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem,” David answered.

Chris Bray
Re-read verse 50 of this passage. It doesn’t say that David used his faith to kill the Philistine. He used his sling. He had practiced with that sling for countless hours. Summoned by Saul early in the story, he didn’t say, “ Well, my King, I will do my best to kill this giant, but I’m probably going to let you down.” Instead, David was emphatic about what he was going to do! He had complete faith in his ability to achieve excellence because he knew that he had already practiced and been tested. Like David, if, when we encounter giants in our lives, we have practiced with our sling, i.e., our prayer life, worship, love, humility, confession, study, service, etc., we won’t be overwhelmed by fear. We will have complete confidence of our abilities to face down the monsters. We will see the giant as it is and immediately begin to battle it effectively. Shun a superficial milk toast approach to the more important part of your life. Approach your spiritual life with the mentality that you will succeed! Faith is God’s gift. Step out in David faith and watch it produce great things for God, others, and yourself.

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