David Takes a Stand

Read 1 Samuel 17

Most of us are quite familiar with the Bible story of David and Goliath. David, the youngest son of Jesse, tended the family's sheep, while his three oldest brothers had joined the Israelite army to fight the Philistines. One day Jesse asked David to take some supplies to the captain of the army and his brothers and check to see how they were doing.

Not long after David arrived, Goliath presented himself and started shouting insults as he liked to do. David was shocked. How dare this pagan defy the only true God in this way. The way the soldiers cowered just made David more resolved, and he showed his determination to do something as his righteous indignation burned.

Other soldiers, his brothers, and even King Saul tried to talk him out of facing the giant, but David wouldn't relent. Shedding the armor Saul tried to give him, he clutched his slingshot and went out to meet the enemy. David knew his skill with the slingshot, because he'd regularly used it against the beasts that tried to attack his sheep. But David also knew where the real power lay - not in man but in God.

You know the story. This young lad who had spent countless lonely hours in pastures didn't care as much about what others thought of him as he did in what they thought of God. He couldn't bear to hear God's name defiled. He didn't think he was risking everything, because he trusted God, and serving God was worth everything. He faced Goliath's mocking laughter and killed him with a stone to the forehead.

Today, darkness is trying to overcome the world. More and more people are scoffing at the idea of God being in control. In many places that once smiled on Christianity, it's no longer popular to be a Christian. Ridicule and persecution are spreading, even in the Western World. We need some Davids to take a bold stand for the Lord. The Church has been silent for too long. We must speak up if we keep our right to speak out and worship in peace. Will you be one of the bold ones?

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