“ David wasn’ t just minding sheep— he was being formed in the crucible, meeting with God in hidden places and becoming a man after His heart.”
and Goliath, found in 1 Samuel 17, I think of how I would walk out this story. David had been formed in ways that would be expressed beautifully in this collision with Goliath. David knew who he was and who he was not and stood firm in his identity when he denied the king’ s armor that did not fit. This consecrated confidence confronts people-pleasing and self-protection. David did not deny the armor to make a point or flex his courage. He did it because it simply did not fit. He knew who he was and what he could do without armor... He did not have it when the lions and bear came to kill his father’ s sheep.
How many times do I do something epic or dramatic, like deny someone else’ s“ armor” or way of doing things, not out of security and identity, but to flex, make a point, or be impressive?
David was not trying to impress the king, his brothers, or the flanks of soldiers shuddering at Goliath’ s verbal abuse. David, in the crucible of shepherding, had fallen in love with the Lord and knew God’ s worth. David took a stand and faced Goliath with consecrated confidence because Goliath was defying God’ s army... Goliath was attacking the God David had met and lived for in private. God had kept David and been with him in private and David, in public, was not going to stand for his God and God’ s army to be attacked. I imagine David saying under his breath,“ No one talks that way about my God.” mixed motives, some for self and some in“ Jesus’ name,” with an eye on the task and an eye on the audience?
David locked eyes with Goliath, with no armor and no desire to impress, and ran toward the giant. With consecrated confidence, holy humility, David told the Philistine:
“ You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied”( v. 45).
David would kill Goliath and walk into new favor and anointing for the remainder of his life. The crucible of shepherding and fighting lions and bears would soon become the crucible of hiding from the king who once offered him armor. Saul, out of jealousy and fear, would come against David and hunt to kill the young man who would soon take his seat as king. David would evade the angry king and fight the urge to retaliate. The crucible of formation in David’ s life had continued from the obscure season of shepherding to a more intense and difficult season of running and hiding.
“ David wasn’ t just minding sheep— he was being formed in the crucible, meeting with God in hidden places and becoming a man after His heart.”
How many times might I do something with
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