David and Goliath

Limited Edition Reproduction 17" X 13"

I Samuel 17

“To the hard of hearing you shout, and to the almost blind you draw large startling figures.”       --Flannery O’Connor

Goliath was a Philistine giant with a height of at least 9 1/2 feet and enough armor and weapons to guard Fort Knox. For 40 days this man challenged Saul’s army to find one man willing to engage in hand-to-hand combat. The winner of the battle would determine the outcome of the war between the Israelites and Philistines. One day a man named Jesse told his youngest son to bring some food to his older brothers and their commander on the front lines. That boy’s name was David and when he happened to hear Goliath’s threat, he was ready for a fight.

When King Saul took a look at him he had his doubts. David reassured him that while tending his father’s sheep that he had killed both a lion and a bear that tried to attack his flock. God delivered him from these beasts, and He would also deliver him from this sack of hot air.

After the giant lets David know what’s in store for him, David says, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD.” He then reached in his bag, took out a stone, slung it and nailed the giant right in the forehead.

The giant in this picture is much larger than the one described in Scripture. When fear, doubt, and anxiety go unchecked, it pervades every nook and cranny of our lives. It’s a monster that has a shadow a million miles long, always asking questions with the word ‘if.’ Henri J. M. Nouwen says, “Once these questions guide our lives, we take out a second mortgage in the house of fear.”

David’s actions were a supreme example to the Israelites about trusting God above all else. Jesus says simply, “Make your home in Me, as I make Mine in you.” (John 15:4) When we’re truly home in Jesus, what is there to fear?