“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing”

— John 15:4-5

This is a weekly reflection on the previous week’s sermon text. Each week there will be a devotional related to the scripture for the week, along with questions for reflection/discussion, as well as prayer. Feel free to make this a part of your individual spiritual growth throughout the week or utilize in small group settings (growth groups, Sunday school, etc.)

Read I Samuel chapters 16 and 17

I Samuel 16 and 17 tell the story of the selection of David as the one who would succeed King Saul, as well as the story of David and Goliath. King Saul, the first King of Israel, was a complete disaster. The people should not have been surprised as God advised them from the beginning that they did not need a king, but the people persisted and insisted that they wanted a king just like all the other nations.

God called a man named Samuel to anoint the kings and the time came to anoint someone other than Saul. God sent Samuel to a man named Jesse and instructed him that the next king would be one of Jesse’s sons. Turns out the son that God had in mind was the least likely of all – the youngest son. His name was David – a shepherd boy.

Next thing you know the Philistines are at war with the people of Israel, and in a scene that would be made for Hollywood, the Philistines are on one side of a valley, and the Israelites are on the other. In the middle of the valley stood Goliath – a giant Philistine bully. He stood in the valley every day for 40 days calling out the Israelites and had a simple proposal – that the Israelites send someone to fight him. Goliath wins – then the people of Israel are subject to the Philistines. If an Israelite wins then the Philistines are subject to Israel.

As you can imagine, there were not many Israelites, including King Saul, who were willing to fight Goliath. In fact, there were none, until David arrived on the scene. He was sent to bring food to his brothers and report back to his father Jesse, but amid delivering the food he felt compelled to be the one to take on Goliath. Saul tried to give David his armor, but after trying on the armor David refused saying, “I cannot go in these because I am not used to them.” Instead, David chose five smooth stones from the stream along with his sling. We know the rest of the story – David defeated Goliath.

Poor Goliath – he didn’t have a chance! He had limited mobility and was the clear underdog from a tactical standpoint. David, being a skilled shepherd who had killed both lions and bears to protect his sheep, would have no problem defeating Goliath with a sling shot from a distance.

There are many lessons from this story, but I think one of the most important lessons is that David was successful because he didn’t fight Goliath with someone else’s armor. He was true to himself and fought the battle on his terms with the gifts and skills that God had given him. But beyond the tactical advantages, David believed God would deliver him and had faith that he was not alone in the valley. May we be our true selves today and trust God with the rest.