The Point of David vs. Goliath

If we are reading the story of David and Goliath and looking for the courage to continue in whatever challenge we’re facing, we must understand this: as we face battlefields in life, the point of this amazing story is not that our striving to find faith in God will deliver us. The point is that God already has delivered us.

So how do we respond to this reality? By focusing on the truth that our champion is the source of our faith and courage. A fresh look at the text will reveal this. When the Israelites saw David destroy Goliath, it produced in them a battle cry. The Israelites went from scared and terrified to determined and alive because they saw that they had a champion.

Our True Champion

In the same way for us, in our lives, we look to Jesus who is our champion. We dwell with Jesus. We stand on His victory. We focus on the truth as outlined in Hebrews 12:1-3:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

The writer of Hebrews says: if you're in this battlefield of life, and you're running this race of faith, what you do is you keep your eyes on Jesus. Why? Because he started your faith. He sustains your faith. He's the one that overcame Goliath. He went to the cross. He endured the shame. He carried your burdens. He took death upon himself for you.

 

A New Perspective 

Jesus, our champion, did all of that. So our response to this is to look at our champion, to dwell with our champion. What we must not do is dwell on what's before us. Because if we take one look at Goliath, we will be terrified. If we keep focusing on those issues, that sin that keeps entrapping us, marital strife, life’s daily burdens, conflicts, and worries — what will happen is that fear will rise, and we will find ourselves paralyzed.

What if, instead, we get on our knees and look to our champion, who says, “You are my child. I have killed Goliath. He has no power over you”? If we focus on our champion, we will remember who he is and what he's done, and we will begin to point to all the ways God has and continues to deliver us in our daily lives. This is, as Paul puts it in Ephesians 3, the power of the Spirit at work in our inner being that strengthens us in times of trial. When we look to, dwell with, and worship our champion, courage will stir. And we will see that this courage does not come from us. 

Too often, we want “self-help” guidance, a handful of stones that will allow us to deliver ourselves from our problems — all while forgetting that Jesus himself is the stone, the rock on which we stand. We need to remember him, and look to him, when we need strength and courage. 


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The Most Remarkable Chapter In the Bible