Courage Like David

This morning I prayed fervently, and with a strong desire to have courage like David. I asked God to fill me with the same kind of courage that He filled David with when David faced Goliath. What? You have never prayed for courage either? Let's chat a minute.

I loved the movie Facing the Giants. It is a bit slow paced at first, and though the production was a bit lower budget then the big Hollywood movies, it is a FANTASTIC movie! It speaks of courage. And it reminds us we all have our own Goliath's to face every single day. Sometimes our Goliaths are hidden and we really do not know what it is, but it's there.

Some of us have many Goliath's and we need a lot of courage. My suggestion is to not take on all of these Giants unless God has told you to move forward with all of them. Why? Because we get lose focus, and get discouraged, and not be able to see where the courage is going. I know I have several Giants right now. But there is one in particular I feel called to deal with first. And I am ready. I am ready for battle. I have never felt this courageous and yet, today I do. Today I hear that battle beat way back in the background, and I am putting on my battle gear. (Prayer, time in God's Word, and KNOWING when to keep my mouth shut, and when to share.)

I love this story of David and Goliath and it has always been one of my favorites. I have always felt weak, when I compared myself to others. Just this month, God has shown me I can't get "un weak" until I give that up, and simply compare myself to Him. NOT in a way that makes me feel low about myself, but in a way that I need to build up my faith, strength in Him, courage, etc... and I have been called into a perfect season in my life for just that. I am feeling bold and confident, not in Sheila (as I imagine David didnt' face Goliath in his own strength), but in God who has promised to never leave me or forsake me.

Let's take a look at Goliath:

A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels; 6 on his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on his back. 7 His spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer went ahead of him. 1 Samuel 17:4-7

He sounds pretty huge right? What could be your Goliath? A trouble marriage, unemployment, a child who is going astray, conflict at the workplace, a strained family relationship, etc... Those are just as huge, especially it seems the more time and energy you have devoted into them. I know how these situations would make me feel.  I wonder how David first felt?

Early in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and greeted his brothers. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear. 25 Now the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his father's family from taxes in Israel." 26 David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" 27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, "This is what will be done for the man who kills him." 28 When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle." 29 "Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?" 30 He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. 31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. 32 David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." 33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."
Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you." 1 Samuel 17: 20 - 37 

He had courage. God filled him with courage early in his walk with Him. I love it! I NEED it too! I encourage you to read all of the story, the little details and soak them in. This is just a great reminder that we need to face our battles with courage in the Lord, not courage in man. Not even courage in ourselves. We cannot give ourselves the courage that we need.




Products mentioned in this post. (All proceeds from you ordering from  my Amazon page goes into my classroom! I do expect everyone to order from these links but if you do, I wanted you to know where the funds would go.)