1 Samuel 17:45-51: a reflection

45Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46Today, the LORD will deliver you into my hand. I will strike you and take your head from off you. I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines today to the birds of the sky and to the wild animals of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47and that all this assembly may know that the LORD doesn’t save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.” 48When the Philistine arose, and walked and came near to meet David, David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49David put his hand in his bag, took a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine in his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand. 51Then David ran, stood over the Philistine, took his sword, drew it out of its sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

As David faces the giant who has defied Israel, he declares that he comes not in his own strength or weapons but in the name of the LORD, for the battle belongs to God. You come to me with a sword and a spear, David says to the giant, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. The LORD doesn't save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD's. David, a young shepherd with only a sling and stones, faces a heavily armed giant; but his confidence is not in his weapons or his own strength, which were far inferior, but in the name of the LORD, whose battle it was. He faced the giant in God's name, trusting the battle to God. This shows facing what is against us in the name of the LORD, trusting the battle is his. Face what is against you in the name of the LORD, not your own strength. The battle is the LORD's; trust it to him. David's confidence was in God's name, not his weapons. Face the giant in God's name, trusting the battle to him.

Notice where David's confidence lay as he faced the giant. By every outward measure, David was hopelessly outmatched: a young shepherd with a sling against a heavily armed giant. If his confidence had been in his own strength or weapons, he would have had no hope. But David's confidence was elsewhere: I come to you in the name of the LORD, he says; the battle is the LORD's. He faced the giant not in his own strength, which was insufficient, but in the name and strength of God, trusting that the battle belonged to God, who does not save by sword and spear but by his own power. This is a pattern for facing what is against us. We too face things that are against us, that seem to outmatch us, giants that defy us, whether difficulties, opposition, temptations, or troubles beyond our own strength to overcome. If our confidence is in our own strength, we may well be overmatched. But we can face them as David did: in the name of the LORD, trusting that the battle is his, not ours, and that he does not save by our own strength but by his. To face what is against us in the name of the LORD, with our confidence in God and not in ourselves, is to face it as David faced the giant, trusting the battle to the one to whom it belongs. We do well to face our giants in the name of the LORD, trusting the battle is his. Face what is against you in God's name, not in your own strength. The battle is the LORD's; your confidence can be in him. Do not face your giants trusting only in yourself. Trust the battle to God, who does not save by our strength but his.

That is worth taking to heart, for we can face what is against us in the name of the LORD, trusting that the battle is his and not ours, as David faced the giant not in his own strength but in God's name. We can face our giants trusting only in our own strength, and be overmatched; but David faced the giant in the name of the LORD, declaring the battle was the LORD's. The battle is God's. When you face what seems to outmatch you, do not trust only in your own strength; face it in the name of the LORD, trusting the battle to him. Face what is against you in the name of the LORD, trusting that the battle is his and not yours, rather than in your own strength, as David, facing the giant who had defied Israel, declared that he came not with a sword and spear but in the name of the LORD of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, and that the LORD does not save with sword and spear, for the battle is the LORD's; for David, a young shepherd with only a sling and stones against a heavily armed giant, was by every outward measure hopelessly outmatched, and if his confidence had been in his own strength or weapons he would have had no hope, but his confidence lay elsewhere, in the name and strength of God, trusting that the battle belonged to God who saves not by sword and spear but by his own power, which is a pattern for facing what is against us, since we too face things that seem to outmatch us, giants that defy us, difficulties, opposition, temptations, or troubles beyond our own strength, and if our confidence is in our own strength we may well be overmatched, but we can face them as David did, in the name of the LORD, trusting that the battle is his and that he does not save by our strength but by his, so that we do well to face our giants in the name of the LORD, with our confidence in God and not in ourselves.

Lord, as David faces the giant who has defied Israel, he declares that he comes not in his own strength or weapons but in your name, for the battle belongs to you. You come to me with a sword and a spear, David says to the giant, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. The LORD doesn't save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD's. David, a young shepherd with only a sling and stones, faces a heavily armed giant; but his confidence is not in his weapons or his own strength, which were far inferior, but in your name, whose battle it was. He faced the giant in your name, trusting the battle to you. Show me where David's confidence lay. By every outward measure, David was hopelessly outmatched. If his confidence had been in his own strength or weapons, he would have had no hope. But David's confidence was elsewhere: I come to you in the name of the LORD; the battle is the LORD's. He faced the giant not in his own strength, but in your name and strength, trusting that the battle belonged to you, who do not save by sword and spear but by your own power. This is a pattern for facing what is against me. I too face things that seem to outmatch me, giants that defy me, difficulties, opposition, temptations, troubles beyond my own strength. If my confidence is in my own strength, I may well be overmatched. But I can face them as David did: in your name, trusting that the battle is yours, not mine. Take that to my heart, for I can face what is against me in your name, trusting the battle is yours. When I face what seems to outmatch me, keep me from trusting only in my own strength; help me face it in your name, Lord, trusting the battle to you, who do not save by my strength but by yours, as David faced the giant in the name of the LORD.