Deuteronomy Chapter 11: Verses 22-23 (NIV-UK)
If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow – to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast to him – then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.
1 Samuel 17: 4-7 (NLT)
Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield.
1 Samuel 17:33-37 (NLT)
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”
But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
Moses reiterated to the people that as long as they walked in obedience to God’s commands, they did not need to fear nations who appeared bigger and stronger than them. But they quickly forgot that instruction. By the time Saul has been made king of Israel, and for a long time before that, they looked only at their circumstances and not at the God who wanted to help them. Not so with David. He had trusted God in every circumstance, and his willingness to fight Goliath was not based on his own strength and abilities, rather it showed his confidence in God.
I recall a friend going for an interview for a job many years ago. On paper she was the least experienced candidate, and there were others who had better qualifications. Initially she was just planning to use the interview as experience because she didn’t think she would be in the running, but as she waited before God, she felt His Spirit remind her of the story of David fighting Goliath. So, she changed her attitude and went for the interview believing that if this job was God’s will for her, then no matter the qualifications of the others, she would get the job – and she did!
We need to remember that if God wants us to do something, and we are obedient to his command, He will give us the strength and ability to do all He asks us to, even if our knees are knocking! We may look like the underdog to others, but as long as we are under God’s anointing, we are far from being so. That’s why we need often to take our eyes off our circumstances and look to God. Sadly, just like the Israelites we sometimes forget to do just that. I’m taking this as a reminder today.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for reminding me that if I walk in the way You require, I need not fear others who look as though they are better qualified or more able to do the things that You have asked me to do. Help me to remember that obedience to You is really the only qualification that I need. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen