“All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” I Samuel [17:47]
When I first heard the story of David and Goliath, I was totally enraptured that this young boy had such a fierce trust of God that he would even stand before a warrior such as Goliath. Not with armor, a sword or any other weapon than a slingshot and some stones. Amazing! I always wanted to be a warrior! My friends, sister and I would jump off beds with towels tied around our necks, we were super heroes! We fought villains and the forces of evil with sticks and mud balls, we were fearless.
One my favorite chalk drawings that I draw is called the “Little Warrior”. I drew this when my nephew James, was going through cancer as a child. A small child warrior stands with his sword drawn, armor on, shouting at something the audience doesn’t see, as the presentation progresses, you see what he is facing. Out of the darkness there are wolves, a giant’s arm with a maze and snakes all around him. He carries nothing but a sword and a Cross on his armor. When the black light is on, you can see, what the warrior does not see, the real source of his strength, Jesus with His arms around him protecting him from the evil he is facing.
Somewhere along the path of growing up, as our towel capes turned into work clothes and our weapons turned into tools and typewriters. We dropped our guard and joined the fearful Israelites on the hill observing the shouts and curses of the enormous Goliath. (I Samuel [17:11]) We could never stand up to those who would hinder us from realizing the greatness God had intended us to achieve. We could never go and face a wall like Goliath, because we had nothing to defend ourselves with that would compare to his strength and power.
We all face a Goliath at one time or another. It may seem that when one is defeated there is another to take its place. What are you facing? If you know Jesus as your, Defender and Savior, He’s got a defense that nothing can penetrate, not words, actions, physical assault, nothing. We must rise up with the “sword of the spirit” and say as David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” I Samuel 17: 32.
Jackie Gillespie