Invincible wouldn’t that be nice?
Three thousand years removed from the event, and now after: millions of sermons, thousands of songs, unimaginable number of coloring sheets, and a few movies like Facing the Giants, it’s clear—David walked into the Valley of Elah (AKA the Valley of the Shadow of Death) and he was the one that was invincible. God supernaturally covered and empowered this young shepherd boy. Like Popeye eating spinach or Mario finding a flashing star—David could not be harmed, he could not lose.
As I said, we know that now. But let’s rewind to that day when David played pizza boy and delivered food to his brothers in the Israelite Army. The youngest son was only running an errand, when he saw something he could not believe. The army of the living God hid while the Philistine champion hurled insults at them and God. David began to tell his brothers and other soldiers that someone should fight Goliath. His words got him sent to King Saul who allowed David to go met his death. Saul tried to put his armor on the boy, but David was not used to them.
So, the runt of Jesse’s litter. The young shepherd boy. The one with a history of being overlooked, marched out to face the champion of a powerful people. Not just a champion warrior, but literally a giant. And not just a giant, but a well-armed and armored giant.
Please, play along with me. If you were an embedded reporter with the Israelites or even the Philistines on that day, who would seem invincible or the most invincible?
Number one, would be Goliath. The Philistines were a powerful people at that time. Their army was strong, and Goliath was their best soldier. This army was the most advanced of the two. The Philistines were some of the first to use bronze, the Israelites were not. And Goliath had the best of the best of equipment of this more advanced army. And again, he was a literally giant. He also had experience, as Saul pointed out with how that the giant had been fighting since his youth. If anyone had a right to be confident or fearless, it was Goliath.
Second, would be the Philistine army for the reasons mentioned above. They were the stronger of the two armies. At that time, more experienced and trained. And again, they had more advanced weaponry and armor.
Third, goes to King Saul. He was the champion of Israel. Remember he stood head and shoulders above the Israelites. He would have the best of the best of the Israelite gear.
Fourth, would go to the Israelite army. They had some experience, some training. They were armed.
If anyone was betting they would pick these long before they picked the young boy who wasn’t even in the army and was armed only with a sling and rocks. For those who were there, they knew they stood a better chance than David.
But as the story has been preached and told many times, we are stronger with God. David was. And I would go as far as to say we can be invincible with God.
As you face the challenges of your day, your evening, the rest of the week, the next week, next month, next year, and so on, don’t be confident in what you have. Don’t be confident in your strength. Don’t be confident in your experience. Don’t be confident in your training. Rather be confident in God and He will make you invincible.
[bctt tweet=”Like Popeye eating spinach or Mario finding a flashing star—David could not be harmed” username=”inspireafire”]
[bctt tweet=”Rather be confident in God and He will make you invincible.” username=”inspireafire”]
