Earlier this week, prompted by a devotional I was reading I spent some time in 1 Samuel 17. While it’s a passage of scripture I am very familiar with, it’s not one that I would have turned to if not prompted to do so. This is the story of David and Goliath. We all know it, for many of us we had heard this story since we were small children. We could recount it without even needing to consult the Bible. But as He often does, God chose a seemingly random verse to open my eyes to a new level of insight and understanding. One thing I tell my  HS students all the time is that if you sense the Holy Spirit stopping you a particular verse-just stop, spend time and process/pray through what God is telling you. It is so tempting for us to plow on through the end of the passage to get done and check Bible reading off our to do list. But we miss so much when we approach Bible study that way. I get it-I can be so guilty of doing this exact same thing. It takes a daily surrender and prayer for help before I even open my Bible for me to be patient and allow God to guide me.

Let’s pick up this story at 1 Sam 17:34. King Saul is basically telling David, he can’t fight Goliath because of his age and inexperience. David replies “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep” Then he goes on to tell Saul how he has looked after, protected and rescued the sheep in his care from their natural enemies and predators for years. “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep”, that one phrase is what struck me. David didn’t go to the battle field that day expecting to fight, let alone to fight a giant. He was simply doing what he was told to do by his father. Little did he know that all the sheep tending he had been doing was preparing him for this day.

There are a few things we can learn from David in this passage. First, is that his obedience to his father put him in the exact place at the exact time with the exact experience he needed to be used in a mighty way by God. Turns out that he was being prepared for this battle simply by being obedient in his daily life. Do you ever get bogged down in the monotony of daily life? Do you long to do something more, to be used by God in some bigger way? Do you get tired of tending your sheep? Can I be honest? I do. There are times when I long for more, different, better, etc.. But what if we began to think about that daily monotony that God has placed us in as truly “tending His sheep’? What if we began to see it as a training ground for future battles? What if we were just obedient and stopped questioning and complaining and simply trusted our Father?  For me this was eye opening, especially in this current season of life where there are times when I am desperate for more or better.

Verse 38 is where the next eye opening came. Saul has David put on his armor. David says “I can’t walk in these, “I’m not used to them.” David didn’t like Saul’s armor, he found it cumbersome and hard to move around. He chose instead to go into battle with what he was comfortable with-God. We have this same armor available to us every day. Isn’t it time we “suit-up” in God’s armor (Ephesians 6:10-18) that is designed specifically for us instead of the world’s idea of what our armor should be?

Moving on to verse 45, David comes face to face with the giant Goliath.  I love this verbal exchange between the two. Goliath is hurling insults at David. But David is unfazed. He says “Dude, come at with anything you want. I don’t need any of that junk. I have God and He is all I need!” (obviously my paraphrase). What confidence in God! I don’t know about you, but I long for that kind of unwavering confidence in my Father! This reminds us that it wasn’t David who was victorious that day, but God. David was simply the instrument God used to do the seemingly impossible. David’s obedience in the small, daily, more than like monotonous tasks had prepared him to be used by God in a huge way! 

Jesus teaches the same thing in Matthew 25:14-30, when He tells the parable of the talents. Verse 21 says “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’”   Who knows what our battles or new things may be on our horizon? Things we may well be preparing for today in our normal, routine and monotonous tasks. 

The question is what or who will you go into your battles with? Will you put on the world’s idea of armor or the full armor of God? Will you choose to face today, whatever normal it holds, with eyes to see our Father’s sheep that need tending or human eyes that fail to see past the here and now? Will you approach your battles and giants with the unwavering confidence of David or will you cower in fear like the rest of the Israelite army? My prayer is that you will spend some time with God and His word, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you to whatever new understanding He has for you today. 

Father God, please help me to trust You and the calling You have placed on my life. Give me the courage to be faithful and content in the daily preparation, tending the flock you have placed in my life. Fill me with the unwavering confidence of David as I walk with you into whatever battles come my way. Thank You!