For the past two weeks, we have been hearing from the first book of Samuel, the story of the Samuel the prophet, Saul thrst king of Israel, and now the familiar story of David and the Philistine Goliath. Goliath is a strong professional warrior who has confidence in himself and in his abilities to fight. When Goliath sees David approach him, he curses David in the name of his gods and describes how he is going to destroy him and leave his flesh for the wild animals to eat. David, on the other hand, came into this meeting having confidence that the Lord would protect him. He knows that having God on his side is more important than his own abilities. David tells Goliath that he comes against him in the name of the Lord of hosts, in the name of the God of the armies of Israel whom Goliath has insulted. While David has confidence in God, he also does his part and cooperates with God’s will. He doesn't just sit back and let God do all the work. David had his work to do as well.
David went into battle with Goliath without the armor that the ancient warriors wore into battle because it would not fit him. David went into battle without the weapons an ancient warrior would traditionally use. Instead, he brought stones and a sling that a shepherd in ancient Israel would normally carry to defend their sheep against predator animals. Many times, we also go through our journey of faith feeling vulnerable and ill equipped. Yet, we are called to trust in the Lord when we follow his path and his will in our lives.
When we face our goals and challenges and problems in life, we are called to see God's presence and will in what we are undertaking. Nothing is impossible for God. However, when we try to take matters in our own hands and ignore God's will and God's path for us in our lives, we will realize that we cannot do it alone and on our own initiative no matter what the battle is.
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