"Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands."
1 Samuel 17:45-47
The utter confidence of David going up against Goliath just floors me. Earlier in the chapter (verses 34-37), David explains to Saul that the Lord delivered him from a bear and a lion in the past, and perhaps that is what prepared him and gave him the confidence in the Lord that he has when facing Goliath. I think that is probably why we are often asked to remember in the Scriptures, and also one of the reasons that these stories are here... so that we can remember the great things that the Lord has done for our fathers (Ether 6:30, Ether 7:27) and also "how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until [this] time" (Moroni 10:3). Knowing these great stories of faith can help us be faithful if we internalize them and learn from them, as from our own experiences.
It's tough to see beyond physical sight, and what we've learned about power and physical might, and trust that "they that be with us are more than they that be with them" (2 Kings 6:16), but that is nevertheless the lesson here as well. :)
Today, let's work on relying less on the world and more on God. This doesn't mean, of course, that we should stop working to make the best choices possible with the information we have, or that we should just ignore good advice because we are expecting the Lord to come through with a miracle, but I think one place where we can apply this advice without any hesitation is on having hope for the future. Things sometimes seem bleak or impossible, the way they probably looked to every single witness of David going to stand before Goliath. And yet God can strengthen and help us when we stand up in his name, and work to bring to pass his will. No matter how weak we are individually, we can be made strong in Christ, and the Lord will surely fight against despair, hopelessness, and fear if we trust in him.. and once we have confidence that he will help us in those circumstances, then perhaps we can work with God to learn more, and work up to the kind of confidence that David had. :)
This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands."
1 Samuel 17:45-47
The utter confidence of David going up against Goliath just floors me. Earlier in the chapter (verses 34-37), David explains to Saul that the Lord delivered him from a bear and a lion in the past, and perhaps that is what prepared him and gave him the confidence in the Lord that he has when facing Goliath. I think that is probably why we are often asked to remember in the Scriptures, and also one of the reasons that these stories are here... so that we can remember the great things that the Lord has done for our fathers (Ether 6:30, Ether 7:27) and also "how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until [this] time" (Moroni 10:3). Knowing these great stories of faith can help us be faithful if we internalize them and learn from them, as from our own experiences.
It's tough to see beyond physical sight, and what we've learned about power and physical might, and trust that "they that be with us are more than they that be with them" (2 Kings 6:16), but that is nevertheless the lesson here as well. :)
Today, let's work on relying less on the world and more on God. This doesn't mean, of course, that we should stop working to make the best choices possible with the information we have, or that we should just ignore good advice because we are expecting the Lord to come through with a miracle, but I think one place where we can apply this advice without any hesitation is on having hope for the future. Things sometimes seem bleak or impossible, the way they probably looked to every single witness of David going to stand before Goliath. And yet God can strengthen and help us when we stand up in his name, and work to bring to pass his will. No matter how weak we are individually, we can be made strong in Christ, and the Lord will surely fight against despair, hopelessness, and fear if we trust in him.. and once we have confidence that he will help us in those circumstances, then perhaps we can work with God to learn more, and work up to the kind of confidence that David had. :)
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