Why does the David and Goliath account have it’s own special blog entry? Inquiring minds want to know…
Actually, it’s pretty simple.
Our “Bible in a Year” program has us reading 1 Samuel 15-17, and David and Goliath are 16-17. It’s just too much content for one blog, and too important to skip over.
16:7 tells us that God is looking deeper than appearances. In God’s sight, “clothes don’t make the man”…neither does physical appearance, popularity, strength or age. God is far more interested in your disposition toward Him than anything else. In other words, your opinion about who God really is, and what permission you give God to speak into and direct your life are characteristics that God is looking for. Those sort of things cannot be seen by simply looking at a person. But, they are what God sees when He looks at us.
So, maybe you weigh too much, or too little. Maybe you aren’t as tall as you would like, or your ears are shaped funny. Maybe your appearance or complexion isn’t what people find attractive these days. So what. Seriously, let’s get over it. The only person whose opinion truly matters is God, and He can make us attractive when there is nothing attractive about us. So quit wasting time worrying about whether or not your hair is falling out and focus on something truly important…..your personal relationship with the One who created you. This is where true beauty, significance, capability and companionship come from. Everything else is a poor substitute.
David is type of person that God is looking for. He isn’t as tall as Saul, his family isn’t as wealthy, and he apparently doesn’t have as many contacts or friends in powerful places. Then again…none of that is important in the least in God’s sight. God sees a person who is 100% trusting in Him for everything, and that’s job qualification number one.
When God is in His rightful place in your life, problems are seen from a different perspective. Consider Goliath. In the same way a sheet of paper is tall standing on end, it’s still very thin when viewed from a different angle. From Saul’s perspective Goliath was a giant, looming over the cowering Israelite army….that’s because Saul had lost his contact with God. From David’s perspective, Goliath is as thin and fragile as a sheet of paper….a single stone will take him down, and the entire army will run away in fear. Why the difference? Because David is seeing from God’s perspective. He isn’t trying to muster enough faith to be brave, he simply sees things differently and is acting based on what he sees. David sees that God is fighting against the Philistines. Any action on David’s part will be amplified to success by God. If God had wanted, David could have extended his hand toward Goliath and he would have fallen dead from a stroke. It’s that simple.
David sees it. Sadly, Saul no longer does. The problems loom large for Saul, he frets and worries and wrings his hands. He worries about what the people are going to say about him, what they think of his leadership and what his future and legacy will be.
David sees a loudmouth defying the King of Kings, and recognizes that God is moving against him. That’s all. David isn’t worried about how this will look, what people will think, how he will explain it later, or what impact this victory will have on his political future. Nothing matters to David except serving God in the moment.
Giants come and go. God remains.
Whose perspective do you have? are you seeing things from the angle that the world views them (that’s the only way to see them without God’s help!) or do you have a connection to heaven that gives you a perspective that calms the heart, and encourages the spirit?
Do you see yourself the way God sees you? Do you see your job the way God see’s it? How about your thoughts, good deeds, etc.? Maybe they look like nothing to the world, but are significant in God’s eyes…..the important question is:
“Whose perspective do you have?” His or yours?
Faithfully,
PR