| “And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him … and this uncircumcised Philistine [Goliath] shall be as one of them” (1 Samuel 17:34-36). |
| We all know the story of David and Goliath, and how David, who was only a young man, went out and killed Goliath, when none of the other soldiers were willing to go out and fight with him. At that time David used his sling and a stone, but we see from our verses that David was used to fighting in various ways. |
| When David was keeping his father’s sheep, he killed both a lion and a bear, and we know that he did not have a gun. He probably did not have even a sword or a spear, although the Bible does not say what weapon he used. It was quite an unusual thing for a young man to kill both a lion and a bear single-handed, without anyone else to help. Surely the Lord must have been with him, to enable him to do this. |
| This story teaches us an important lesson. We would all like to be like David, who became a real hero when he went out and killed Goliath. But David had learned to trust the Lord when he was only keeping sheep, and where he killed a lion and a bear when no one else knew about it. Then, when Goliath appeared, David was ready to go out and fight with him, because he had proved the Lord at home. |
| It should be the same in our lives. We would all like to do great things for the Lord, and perhaps we have read stories about others whom the Lord has used to do some great work for Him. But those people had to learn first of all to trust the Lord at home, and in places where they did things that no one else knew about. |
| If you want to do something for the Lord, start with things that are simple, and things that you can do without going anywhere. We learn the Lord’s power in doing simple things for Him, and then, if we are faithful in doing little things, the Lord may give us bigger things to do. David never asked to be a hero; he was content to keep his father’s sheep. But when the chance came to do something big, he was ready. It should be the same with us. |
