David is a pretty common name these days. Maybe that's why I seem to have a hard time remembering that the David who slayed Goliath was also the one who became king, and there weren't two separate Davids. As a youth, he unhesitatingly stepped into battle with a giant that scholars estimate to be almost 10ft. tall. The shepherd was armed with a handful of rocks and a sling while his opponent bore 125lbs of armor. Somehow David persuaded the leader of the Israelite army that his experience in fighting lions and bears equipped him to be the best warrior in the Israelite army to take on the giant. In my head, I envision David marching toward Goliath with full confidence. Goliath's shield-bearer was probably larger than David, but David knew what Goliath didn't... As Goliath cursed the God of Israel, David trusted Him as his warrior in the battle.
Fast forward from 1 Samuel to 1 Chronicles and David is king getting prepared to fight yet another battle. This time, he is scared. It makes little sense at first. David is KING! He is trained for battle, he has a strong army behind him this time. Yet, in chapter 21, he orders a census where he counts only those who "drew the sword". David found confidence in the number of his army rather than the One who was fighting through his army.
Somewhere between the shadow of the giant and the throne of a king, David believed the lie that the blessings that God gave him makes him capable of fighting his own battles.
All of this is palatable until I place myself in David's shoes. I think, "I would never turn away from God and to my own resources." And then tragedy hits, or my plans get mixed up, or paperwork gets shuffled, or I just flat out wake up on the wrong side of the bed and the battle of my day becomes seemingly "too big for God to handle on His own". Satan whispers that I can't trust God with this issue, and I start counting my army. What do I have to fight this battle?
Am I like David the shepherd who took on a giant (shielded by another person, armed for battle, more than twice his opponent's size) without looking back or stuttering in his speech? Or, am I like David the king? With my "wisdom" and "strength" and the army behind me, I still feel a need to assess my strength through the lense of my possessions and strength apart from God?
Here's the end of the story: David the shepherd brought down the giant, and because of his faith, Israel was victorious and all the earth knew there was a God in Israel...mostly because there was no other explanation for David's victory! David the king counted his strength as valuable and 70,000 men of Israel "fell" to the pestilence that ensued.
You see, every battle is the Lord's, the fight is the Lord's, and do not be deceived, the victory will be the Lord's. But as His children, when we surrender to His will and accept His salvation, we also know that this means God fights for us! He is our Warrior! "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57). This is freeing, my friend! We are on the winning side--Always! Some days may be easier than others, and do not be fooled that living within God's will is comfortable! If that's the case, you may be king David awaiting calamity. But my prayer is to always be in the shadow of the giant knowing that greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4)!
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