God’s People on Mission
David: Taking on a giant (or a mouse)
What does it take for us to tackle something big? To hear the voice of God calling us to take on a task or responsibility that is greater than we can imagine and so far above our own abilities. Build an Ark, part a sea, take on a giant.
Men and women achieved great things throughout the Bible, but often they had little or no choice. Daniel, Joseph, Ruth and many others found themselves in situations when they had to put their trust in God. It was God … or bust!
But it was different for David. He found himself wandering through Saul’s army, who were at a stalemate – in despair, no way forward and no way back. They’d been listening to the taunts of a giant for weeks. 40 days; morning and evening, Goliath would put on his armour and go out into the field and call out for someone to fight him. And all of them cowered in fear.
It wasn’t David’s battle, at least not on the surface. He wasn’t even a member of the army. He was there to take supplies to his brothers and bring back news of the battle to his father Jesse. David could have easily turned and walked away. No one would blame him, in fact it is what they all expected him to do.
But David didn’t turn his back on the battle, he walked into it in the only way that would see success, as is evident in his words as he responded to Goliath’s mocking:
“You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” (1 Samuel 17:45)
David knew the battle was enormous. It was way too big for him in his own strength. And so he didn’t trust in his own strength, he put his trust in God, and the rest is history.
So what does it take for you and I to take on a giant in our world? The same understanding, and the same simple faith as David. In fact, sometimes I think that the battles or tasks that we walk into and are in danger of messing up, are those in which we feel so much confidence that we trust in our own strength:
· I’ve done this before
· I know what to say or do here
· I have the knowledge or ability to do this
God has granted us gifts and abilities, and we are certainly right to use them to glorify Him. But I’d suggest that we need to ask God, and trust in Him whether we are taking on a giant, or whether we are dealing with a mouse.
Whether our task is a great one, or a tiny one, our response should be the same. It can be easy to make a mistake when things are simple, or more importantly, to miss the opportunity for God to speak or work because we are making too much noise, or acting so quickly and were not listening to what He wanted to say, or watching for what He wanted to do.
Maybe I’m speaking mostly to myself here. I’ve made this mistake too many times to remember. So today, as I set out. Let my prayer be; that whatever I meet on the way today Lord, be it a giant or a mouse. let me go in Your strength, and may You be glorified in the battle.
