Daily Bible Reading – 1 Samuel 17; Psalm 9; Matthew 2
Today’s Key Passage – 1 Samuel 17:1-50
In today’s key passage, we read the popular story of David and Goliath. Most of us have likely read this story before or have at least heard of it. It is the type of Bible story that we are often told as kids in Sunday school, and there are many lessons to be learned from it. Today, I would like to focus on the practical aspects of this story that we can all use as we walk through our lives. The Philistines had moved into Israel’s territory and set up camp, so King Saul put together an army to face off against them. The two armies were each perched on opposing hills with a valley in between them. At this time in history, armies wanted to avoid losing a lot of troops in a long, drawn out battle, so it was common for an army to pit their strongest soldier against the strongest soldier of the opposing army for a “winner-take-all” battle. Out of the Philistine camp came a giant named Goliath. He was big, he was powerful, he was armed with heavy weapons, and he wanted to fight one of the Israelites to settle the battle. When King Saul and the Israelites saw Goliath, they were all filled with fear. They did not know how they could possibly defeat this formidable foe. For forty days, Goliath would come out of the Philistine camp and intimidate the Israelites, challenging them to send someone to oppose him, but none of the Israelites would dare go against him. All of the Israelites, including Saul, were focused on their own self-preservation, so they were frozen in their fear and unable to move forward against their enemy.
One day David, a young shepherd who was tending his father’s flock was sent to the front lines to bring provisions and to get a report on the war. As he arrived, he saw Goliath come out of the Philistine camp for his daily taunting of the Israelites. Unlike the rest of the Israelites, David’s focus was not on his fear or on self-preservation. His focus was on the glory of God. He said, “Who is this unbeliever, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (Vs. 26) David was confident that God would defeat this enemy. He knew that this giant was no match for the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, so he decided to step up and face off against the giant. Though the other Israelites did not believe David could defeat Goliath, David still made the lonely walk to face off against the giant. David had the faith to know that while he could not defeat the giant alone, God was with him in the battle. In the end, David defeated Goliath using only a slingshot and a single stone.
As we walk through our lives, every single one of us will face off against “giants”. These “giants” might be people who oppose us. They might be habitual sins that we have trouble standing up to. They might be difficult circumstances, illnesses, or financial problems. Whatever the case may be, these “giants” will be a very real threat to us just as Goliath was a very real threat to the Israelites. When we face these giants, we have a choice to make. We can choose to be paralyzed with fear like Saul and the Israelites, afraid to move forward against the “giant”, or we can choose to have faith in God to solve our problems like David. We can choose to focus on our own self-preservation, or we can choose to focus on the glory of God. With the right faith in God, we can trust that He will deliver us from our “giants”. With the right faith in God, we can be sure that He will bring us victory in His own time. With the right faith in God, there is nothing we cannot overcome.
During your Bible reading today, what “key passages” stood out to you? Leave a comment below to share what God is showing you about His Word today.
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May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
