1 Samuel 17:26, Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel?  For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

This is probably one of the most well-known stories from Jewish history in the Bible.  I remember when my son was not quite two years old he kept asking me to read “Corn and Cheese” and it took me a hot minute to figure out that he had picked up on the fact that David’s dad had him take roasted corn, bread and cheese to his brothers.  Funny little guy, but he loved the story of David and Goliath!  Just as Brian picked up on some of the details outside of David killing the giant, I believe that there’s a lot we can apply to what we are facing in this day and all of the craziness going on in the world.  

So here was this young man, anointed by God but there he was out watching the sheep.  Being a shepherd wasn’t exactly a prominent position.  When Samuel had shown up to anoint one of Jessie’s sons David wasn’t even called in from the fields.  Now he was taking this food to his brothers who clearly didn’t appreciate him and Eliab was jealous.  You can tell when Eliab got angry and asked him, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness?  I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”  Since David’s response was, “What have I done now?”  this was obviously a common attitude he dealt with from Eliab.  

Do you ever feel misjudged?  Have you maybe felt as though the people who should have your back lately are anything but supportive? I can tell you right now that if your heart is to follow God and serve Him in all you do satan is going to come after you with maybe even the most unlikely of people.  He will use whoever and whatever to discourage you and make you feel worthless or unequipped.  His goal is to discourage, destroy, and wear you out, but God created you to be an overcomer!  He put His Spirit in you when you accepted Him as your Savior and the powers of Hell cannot prevail against Him!  We need to stir up Godly confidence like David had.  Throughout David’s life, he fought battles when sometimes the odds were against him, sometimes his own family was against him, and sometimes he was worn out and weary, but he found his strength in who his God was.  He knew that the battles were all in God’s hands.  No matter how bad the situation looked, he sought God’s face and trusted Him.  

Think about it ~ it wasn’t like David was going out to face Goliath with any backup!  The warriors behind him were terrified and probably ready to run, but just like a bad accident, they couldn’t look away.  They had to watch it as horrified as they probably were at the thought of what was about to happen to this young foolish teenager.  His brothers were probably trying to figure out what they were going to tell their dad and so much for the little brat being anointed to be king one day.  Even King Saul acted like, “Well, okay ~ off ya go!  Good luck!”  He was surrounded by men who should have had more faith in God, but he stood alone.  Sometimes you may feel as though you are standing alone but let me encourage you that just like in the days of Elijah, God always has a remnant of people who are still standing and following Him.  Ask God to bring other godly men and women into your life so you can lift each other up in prayer and encourage each other.  

It is time to stand.  Christians have become too complacent for too long and the world is defying our God!  That should upset us all greatly just like it did David!  I have seen way too many Christians who are allowing the world to mold what they are standing on and that’s a dangerous place for a Christian to be.  Not only should it cause us to rise up because they are defying our God and the Word of God, but it should also break our hearts that so many people are lost and going to spend eternity in Hell if we don’t live any differently than they do.  God has called us to be set apart for Him and that means we must see what His Word says and then we need to stand.  God’s Word is powerful why would anyone want to water it down?  We have the best News ever but who is going to want it if we behave no differently and we have no higher standard than the world?  These days you really don’t need to beat them over the head with your Bible just stand for what is right and do it with a loving, godly, gracious heart!  Agreeing to fit in is like seeing a blind person trying to cross a busy street but before you do you stop to put a blindfold on so you can’t see either!  God has given us what we need to be strong, loving, gracious, and wise in a world that desperately needs Him.  Ask Him for His love and for Him to guide you every day in all you do.  Seek to be more like Him and to allow His Spirit to fill you to overflowing with who He is!  We don’t have much time and that giant, the devil, is defying the armies of the living God ~ that’s us.  Choose to rise up like David ~ “Is there not a cause” and lead the way in your part of the world so others will see that He is God and be drawn to Him!