He was the runt of the litter, his brother said he was an arrogant, bad hearted, rubber necker and the enemy said he was as threatening as a stick. That’s the “Shari version” of I Samuel 17 as David is about to face off with Goliath. How on earth did he get there? Nobody had any faith in him, his Dad gave him the worst job on the farm and used him as an errand boy to find out what the real soldier boys were doing. I love any story of David, but the history of his battle with Goliath is no doubt in my top three favorite reads. By all accounts of his peers, he shouldn’t have been there. The sum of who David was is written in the words of Abner in verse 55:
And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell.
O king, I cannot tell… Abner had no clue who David was. But God did. The day that Samuel anointed David to be King in Saul’s stead, obviously his brothers took no note of it. Does that not strike you odd? It did me. If someone had come to my house and said one of my siblings was going to be President one day, I think I’d take note of that day. Abner wasn’t there when Samuel anointed David, so he’s excused of his ignorance, but not his brothers, they should have known there was something special about David. David was the forgotten anointed, the waylaid leader, the king in coming and nobody too note… except God!
Scripture is clear that God does not look on the outside but on the heart of man. That scripture too was from the anointing of David. Samuel looked at David’s rugged big brothers and thought surely they were king material. But king material is more looks, its being in touch with those you serve. David shows up on the battle field and hears Goliath mouthing his country and his blood boils!
That’s how I feel about America. That’s how I feel about my church. That’s how I feel about my family and friends. I take it very personal when someone is attacking my people. It’s even worse, when it is my people who are on the attack.
Goliath wasn’t one of David’s people. He was flat out the enemy. His disdain for Israel was to be expected. But David’s brothers… They may not have been mouthing Israel but they weren’t defending her either and they were mouthing their brother who was defending Israel. Unbeknownst to the brethren their little annoying brother had a King sized heart that got him noticed by the King of kings.
God’s not looking for a king but He’s still in the business of noticing hearts.
I have days, multiple lately, when I think my work is in vain. I feel like I have shown up on the battle field of life and one of my people called me an arrogant, bad hearted, rubber necker because I was on their playing field. (For the record, nobody has) that’s just how I feel. I talk a lot… and I’ve been known to say “Is there not a cause,” and be frustrated when nobody was taking off Goliath’s head.
And this morning I heard through God’s word… “I see you. Yes, you annoy the brethren. But I know your heart and I know that you want to help. But you need to spend more time defending the fold before you face the giant.”
I don’t know exactly what that means. But I know in my heart that there was a day when God anointed me to do what I do, and some took note, and some didn’t. I have a King sized heart because the King gave it to me. I can’t shut it off like a water faucet, it flows freely. Unfortunately so does my mouth. All I know right now is, I have some rocks in my pocket but I need to be careful about where I’m throwing them.
My lesson today was this:
- God knows my heart and sees my frustration, the people need to see the victory, not the complaint.
- When I throw stones, I need to make sure it’s at the enemy and aim well.
- Don’t wear someone else’s armor. God created me just the way I am. Vocal.