Malcolm Gladwell wrote a fascinating book titled, David and Goliath. A portion of his book details the rivalry between the Philistines and the Israelites. These two groups were enemies who at this particular point in time had taken up battle positions directly across from each other.
Gladwell noted that typical battle strategy at this time in history was for one army to send out one person who would battle someone from the other army. Whichever person won would win the battle for their army. In this particular encounter the representative for the Philistines was a man named Goliath.
Through the research done by Gladwell, he determined the following about Goliath:
- He stood at least 6’9”.
- He wore a metal helmet, metal leg armor, and full body armor weighing about 125 pounds.
- He carried a javelin for throwing, a sword, and a spear for thrusting. The spearhead alone weighed 15 pounds.
Goliath would come out each day and torment the Israelites challenging someone to come fight him. David, who was bringing food to his brothers, showed up and became incensed that Goliath was treating the Israelites like this. David decided to take on the challenge and fight Goliath.
Remember, David was not a military man. He was a shepherd. When the king of Israel, Saul, heard David wanted to fight Goliath he gave him armor to wear and a sword to use. However, David ultimately refused the armor and the sword. He decided to fight this battle in his own way.
Here is the lesson. Many times, we feel that God needs to answer our prayers in the way we want things done. We expect God to give us armor and a sword. In reality, the way God does things isn’t the way we do things. Here is what Isaiah 55 says:
My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord. And my ways are far beyond anything you can imagine.
David realized that he could not fight a battle the way everyone told him to fight. He realized he needed to simply rely on God to use the skills God had given David. David needed to fight on his terms…which meant giving the fight to God.
So, with a slingshot and stones David defeated a giant armed and protected with the best that was available to soldiers at that time. David had used a slingshot before. He was a shepherd. David knew how to protect his sheep probably with that very slingshot. David let God use the skills he already possessed to accomplish the job.
Next time you are facing a challenge let God use what He has already given to you. Don’t search for the latest armor and sword to solve your problem. Allow God to work through your slingshot.
Photo by James Pond on Unsplash
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