While hidden away protecting and tending to a few sheep in his Father’s care, David was told to take some food to his three oldest brothers who were enlisted in King Saul’s army.
As he went to serve his brothers, approaching into full view, seeing, and hearing the situation and witnessing the fear, intimidation, and control that a Philistine giant had, as he was taunting and defying Israel, David was shocked and angry at the display that put the army of God in fear!
King Saul cowered beneath the situation and offered a great purse of riches and the King’s own daughter to the one who would stand up against this foe and destroy him.
This young man, David, who was anointed by God through the prophet Samuel, kept the sheep of His father, being the youngest of his father’s sons.
He walked up to the front line in shock! He was sent to bring sustenance for his brothers, not realizing he was divinely stepping onto a stage prepared by God for such a time as this. Not even realizing, he walked right into destiny!
As David cared for his father’s sheep as a shepherd, he was unaware of how prophetically significant and aligned he was!
God seasoned David as a shepherd who protected his father’s sheep from the lion and the bear.
David’s destiny began at home and his training led David to have absolute faith and confidence in God’s protection through life experiences. Little did he know that God had prepared him in advance to have absolute confidence in His God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob!
On the front line of destiny, the cast was all set, all coming into alignment concerning this uncircumcised Philistine who defied the army of the living God!
Sudden reality flashed before David’s face, visually reminding himself that by The LORD’s hand he slew a lion and a bear while protecting his father’s sheep!
He looked with the eyes of faith at Israel’s army in unbelief! Surely his thoughts said, “This can’t be so!!!”
This taunting giant intimidated the entire army of God through fear by paralyzing the troops, who were shaking in their boots!
Prophetically , God sent a son of destiny who would be known to rule as a man after God’s own heart!
Being a young man after God’s own heart, no one could fathom the rank or dream of that role that David would have.
For The LORD looks at the heart, not the size, or the weighty armor or giftings for God alone searches the earth for a man who will believe to dream!
It’s those whose faith determines their outcome. In the mind of David, he already had faced a lion and a bear and trusted the familiar method by which he had overcome those predators.
“For the eyes of The LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him,” 2 Chronicles 16:9a KJV.
We exercise and flex our spiritual muscles when we have faith in God’s word. Knowing God’s Word makes us strong in faith and gives us the sensitivity to exercise and to discern situations.
We are not able to pursue, overtake our enemies, and recover everything stolen from us without a strong faith.
The LORD wonders that when he comes if he shall find faith in the earth. For men look at the outward, but God looks at the heart.
David denied the King’s armor and opted for his well-trusted sling with five smooth stones. This method combined with great faith and experiences in God’s promises made him able to spare the sheep from predators by winning the victory and the security of the sheep.
Here we see a young man with no fear or formal military training or service take his trusted sling, releasing a stone to incapacitate the giant, before taking the enemy’s own sword, and cutting off Goliath’s head with his own sword!
The enemy’s giants, who come to bring us fear, intimidation and who taunt us, should provoke our hearts! These times of intense pressure can become a catalyst to press us to react, then to act, by using the Word as our weapon of warfare which is the sword of The Spirit.
It matters not how old we are in God either. The Word works for those who work it. We can actually reverse the enemies’ curse so that the enemy falls in his own pit. He who digs a pit for the righteous, himself shall fall into it!
Beloved, now is the time to use what you have! Your confidence and faith in God were developed through your seasoning process, by making you who you are! Just be who you are and cut off the head of your giants!
Just like that Philistine champion, once that obstacle was breached, broken, and their works destroyed the enemy who had put all their confidence in will run in terror!
We shall all face obstacles before we possess new land and levels. All of us who pick up our cross and follow Christ will face giants in our growth to see how we respond.
Don’t be surprised when you make up your mind, deciding to face the giants, that your brothers will be happy with you.
Au contraire! They will become angry, pride-filled, jealous, and when you are blessed and successful these shall seek your favor wanting to be a part of the blessings when things are successful with you.
These will judge and accuse you of wrong motives, pride, and leaving your low position as they weigh themselves against you by trying to keep you beneath them.
We should be happy when our brother is elevated by God to greater heights, because it means greater service and servant-hood for building The Kingdom.
These don’t want you to rise and they are not happy when you are elevated. They measure themselves and compare themselves against you! Their character is not developed through trial in the fruits of the spirit and they look at the situation from a totally worldly standpoint.
Just watch what comes out of the woodwork when you are successful! It will seem to them that you are a goody-two-shoes and snob thinking you are trying to be better than everyone else. Every upcoming leader will face this.
Your brothers will accuse you of all sorts of things and especially selfish ambitions. But when they see the success, they change their allegiance. Success draws out all sorts of evil spirits and people who want to prostitute and ride on your blessings and anointing.
These opportunists seek favor wanting to be a part of your benefits without the price when things seem successful. However, watch who remains when a trial comes!
David, the man after God’s own heart who was anointed by Samuel as a youth ran from demonized King Saul. Saul knew the prophecy about David yet knowing that the anointing had left him caused him to go mad and so he pursued David relentlessly wanting to kill him.
Yet those who were in debt, distress, and discontented found David in the stronghold and joined in with him and he encouraged those who joined telling them not to fear but abide with him as a safeguard as David led them.
Finally, David would not touch God’s anointed King even though the opportunity seemed right at the time as the anointing departed from King Saul. David chose to do it God’s way and wait for The LORD to raise him up!
David knew the power of fulfillment with the prophecy. When God anoints, appoints and establishes, everyone will know it.
“I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land,” Exodus 23:27-30 KJV.
“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee,” 1 Timothy 4:12-16 KJV.
“Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil,” Hebrews 5:11-14 KJV.
“Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: and there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
And The LORD said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:2-8 KJV.
READ and Study 1 Samuel 17-22.
In HIS Grace and Mercy,
~ Sherry Edwards Mackey
New Beginning Christian Ministries International 