Sunday School this morning went great! We nearly finished the entire lesson (a rarity). Our discussion today was titled “Brave Heart”. This quarter, as you may recall, is called “Heart for God” and we are studying old testament stories that show different ways to have a heart for God. Today, we focused on God’s favor and what it means to us.
One of my favorite old testament stories is the story of David and Goliath. Most of us know the story pretty well, but it is great to read it over again. One of my favorite lines of all the old testament characters is David’s response to the taunting of the Army of Israel by Goliath. Here (NIV) is what he said:
Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?
As you read the entire story, this supreme confidence in God that David displays is shown time and again. David stated the reason for his confidence in the story. God had shown his power to David on a number of occasions in the past, and David was utterly convinced that it would happen again. As I read through this story, I get the sense that David was just dumbfounded that the entire army of Israel was cowering before Goliath. He knew that Israel was chosen by God to be His people and he could not comprehend why THEY had seemed to forget that fact.
As I look back into my past, I can see a number of times when God’s hand was SO obvious. I see it so often that what is MORE surprising is that I still struggle to trust him in my present situations. The bible teaches that David was a man after God’s own heart. I believe that one of the reasons this is true, is because of the kind of faith David displayed that day before the Philistine Goliath. I pray that God will give ME that kind of heart.
Back to our lesson. We were discussing this story in the context of God’s favor shown toward David. David, you see, had been selected by God to be the King of Israel. David was an inconsequential son (he was the youngest) of an inconsequential family in an inconsequential city called Bethlehem. In other words, David was a nobody from nowhere. When God selected him to be king, it was NOT about who David was. It was a choice based on David’s HEART! As Samuel (God’s prophet) was seeking the man chosen by God to lead Israel, he saw what HE thought would be a good king. God told Samuel, in 1 Samuel 16:7 (again, NIV):
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
David’s faith and love for God caused God to show him favor. As a result of God’s favor, David quickly became very well known throughout the entire nation. Just ONE event that was part of that journey is the story about his encounter with Goliath.
So the question becomes, what can I personally take from this story? I mean, it’s great to read about the history of Israel, but what does it really mean to me? The story of David’s selection by God and the favor shown toward him is not an isolated story. There are 3 things that are important to take from this story. First, if God was with David, then He will be with me, too. In Hebrews 13:5(b), God has promised to never leave or forsake his people.
Secondly, we can understand that God is FOR us. Read Psalm 124:1-5:
If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us,
they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger flared against us;
the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
the raging waters
would have swept us away.
Here, the psalmist could not even imagine what his life would have been if God had NOT been on his side. David was able to accomplish what he did because God was on his side AND DAVID KNEW IT. He also lived as though he knew it.
Finally, David knew that God would help him. Read Psalm 121:1-2:
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
We can count on God to be there to help. God has the POWER to help and the DESIRE to help. He simply wants us to look to HIM when we need that help. Like David, we should recognize that God CHOSE us and he is on our side and he is willing and able to help us in times of trouble.
As always, thanks for reading my thoughts. You may agree or disagree and that’s ok. Feel free to add your comments and thoughts to this post.