Slaying Giants

-Valerie Blackston

Most of us know the story of David and Goliath. (1 Samuel 17). Goliath, a giant in the Philistine camp,  armed with bronze armor and far more likely to take down any one in his path, took on David. David, a mere shepherd boy, was small in stature and simply supposed to be supplying food to his brothers who were fighting under King Saul. Instead when he arrived at the camp he heard Goliath call out and decided to speak up: “Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” I Samuel 17:26 NKJV. David couldn’t believe they were just going to succumb to death by this giant without a fight. King Saul heard about this and wanted to speak to David. Saul doubted his ability to take on Goliath, but David was confident in who he was and his abilities as a shepherd, taking on bears and lions to protect his flock. And more so, he was confident in his God, who delivered him from those predators. He didn’t doubt his ability to face Goliath with God on his side.

​To prepare for battle, Saul tried to cloth David in his armor; but David didn’t feel comfortable in that so instead he took it off and chose 5 smooth stones for his sling. When he arrived at battle, with out any doubt he spoke to his foe, “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” 1 Samuel 17:45 NKJV. He then struck Goliath with one stone, that knocked him down, and used Goliath’s personal sword to decapitate him. Wow! Mic drop! No one expected that.


When reading this story, I noticed a few things. One, David’s hope wasn’t in man. His confidence wasn’t found in the opinions of others, in what they thought of Him, or even what they could give to him to “make him better”. He strictly stood on his confidence in his God. There are many times in life when we look to others for our decisions on what we should be doing with our lives. We compare where we are to where someone else is, and question our choices because those closest to us don’t approve. When God leads us to something, He gives us every ability to walk that path. We can confidently rest in Him. Despite what others may say or think, we have to align ourselves with what God says about us and move forward in all He has led us to. If David stayed back because of the doubters and threw on the heavy fancy armor Saul wanted him to wear, he wouldn’t have defeated his giant that day. 


The second thing I noticed with David was that he had just 5 stones to defend himself. Five chances to defeat the giant, yet all he needed was one stone. He didn’t need all the suggestions from King Saul, his 10 closest friend’s opinions, or the person who really didn’t care about his well being all all, but still had suggestions- nope he didn’t even need that opinion. He didn’t need any of that to defeat his giant. He had exactly what God wanted him to have. He had the weapon he was familiar with, his stones, and God on his side. He may have looked weak from the outside. He may have seemed unprepared with the simple weapons that were his expertise. He wasn’t though. He was exactly where he was supposed to be, with the tools he was an expert in, and his confidence only in God. He didn’t leave his fate in the hands of everyone else. He boldly placed his well-being in God- the only one who knew him inside and out. 


I aim to be more like David in 2021. When who we are is questioned because of where our confidence lies, we can boldly stand because we know Who has been there for us fighting off the lions and bears with us in years past. We won’t be paralyzed by what someone else thinks of us or question our abilities because of the doubt of others, but push forward because on our side is the One who carried us to the top many times before. We won’t throw in the towel when things look impossible, because we remember looking into the eyes of impossible many times before and stepping out boldly on the other side because the One who defeated impossible on the cross stands with us always.