Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle ...

And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits {9 feet} and a span. He had a bronze helmet on his head, ... a coat of mail, ... bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. (1 Samuel 17:1,4-6, NKJV)

And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.

And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."

But David said to Saul, "... Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.... The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." (1 Sam 17:24,33-37, NKJV)

Then [David] took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.

So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and ... David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.

And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent. (1 Samuel 17:40,50,51,54, NKJV)

Immediately after Samuel anointed David to be king, the Holy Spirit came upon David. He had lived a life of faith before he was anointed by Samuel, but he now had a new and more powerful relationship with the Lord through the Holy Spirit.

Shortly after his anointing, David came into the presence of Goliath, the giant of Gath. The Israelites and Philistine armies had arrayed themselves on opposing hills, with a valley between the two. Since Goliath was a minister of fear and intimidation, he continually displayed his gleaming bronze armor and physical prowess before the armies of Israel, all the time slandering the name of the Lord God of Israel.

While the men of Israel were greatly intimidated by Goliath, the Spirit of the Lord within David was outraged. Whereas the men of Israel had focused on Goliath's strength, his stature, and each and every detail of his armor and weaponry, David focused on the Lord. The men of Israel were gripped with fear because they saw their limitations in regard to Goliath, while David was filled with confidence, because he focused on the Lord's ability to deliver him in each and every situation, no matter how intimidating.

King Saul offered David his personal armor, but David could barely move in it. Since he was trusting neither in himself, his armor, nor his weaponry, David simply took the weapons he was familiar with, and entered the valley trusting the Lord.

Goliath was outraged to see a small boy coming from the armies of Israel to face the mighty, valiant, and seasoned warrior. The intimidator was humiliated. Goliath trusted his own strength, but David trusted the far superior strength of the Lord and prevailed with a shepherd's sling, and three small stones taken from the stream at the bottom of the valley.

So what does David teach us about faith? First, those who focus on their problems will continually live in fear, whereas those who focus on the Lord will live in faith. Second, those who focus on themselves will be defeated, while those who focus on the Lord will be victorious.

'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts. (Zechariah 4:6, NKJV)

Copyright (c) 2008 Jon Straumfjord