Fridays with David

Read 1 Samuel 17:8-11 – Then he stood and cried out to the armies of Israel, and said to them, “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. (NKJV)

Little wonder Saul and his men were terrified. Why would they agree to a one-on-one confrontation for all the marbles? There were no nine footers in the Israelite camp. Goliath posed a size and technology beyond any strategy Saul could conceive. This is the nature of spiritual warfare. The battle is always larger than we can possibly manage or win. Yet, here is where God leads us and when He moves us forward with the clear sense that we cannot win the battle. We face these kinds of battles in many different ways. When we think, “I can’t” or “there’s no way,” we have found Goliaths in our lives. God can win any battle, but the question we must answer is, “Do you want to be Saul or David?” One couldn’t trust God for his battle, the other experienced a victory that catapulted him into a life of leadership.

– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God. National Men’s Leadership Conference: March 8-10, 2012 . Dallas, Texas . www.men.ag.org