Sticks and Stones

Anyone who has fought in a physical war will tell you that weapons and strategy are essential for victory. In 1 Samuel 17, it is obvious that the Philistine army had put their faith in one weapon and one strategy only; an impressive champion named Goliath.

Scripture tells us that he was approximately nine feet tall and wore armour that weighed one hundred and twenty-five pounds. His helmet was made of bronze and the point of his spear weighed fifteen pounds. ‘When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear’ (1 Samuel 17:24). From a physical perspective this looks like a sure win for the Philistines.

God’s word tells us, in 2 Corinthians 10:4 that we, as followers of Jesus, have divinely empowered weapons that are able to demolish strongholds. The Philistines were using the intimidating weapon of fear as a stronghold to melt the courage of the Israelite army before any actual fighting began. But God had a brilliant plan; a young shepherd boy named David!

There is only one way to conquer fear and that is with divine faith.

So, what is faith? Faith is tangible! ‘Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen’ (Hebrews 11:1). Faith comes to us! ‘Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ’ (Romans 10:17).

Faith is not earthly! It does not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power (1 Corinthians 2-5).

Faith is a gift given to us from the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:9).

When David approached the enormous Philistine, he said to him, “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” (1 Samuel 17:45).

How was it that David’s sticks and stones were able to take down the massive Philistine soldier?

David had received the Holy Spirit in power on the day he was anointed by Samuel (1 Samuel16:13), and he was able to look back in faith to a time where the Lord delivered him from the paw of a lion and a bear, drawing on God’s faithfulness to encourage and empower him   (1 Samuel 17:37).

There was no guarantee that David would defeat the enemy’s champion, but his bravery was not based on the outcome. It was based in El Shaddai, the Lord God Almighty, who was with him and in him! David’s faith was the divinely empowered weapon that enabled him to destroy Goliath with his earthly weapons; a staff, five stones and a slingshot.