I walked into the kitchen to find my daughter seconds away from intense pain. She had poked her little finger in the space where two parts of a folding door were hinged together. With her free hand, she was about to close the door on her finger! When I asked what she was doing, she replied, “I’m testing my courage.” She was seeing how close she could come to having her finger pinched before backing off. Thankfully, I put an end to her painful experiment.
In a truly scary face-off, David acted courageously as he confronted a sneering, foul-mouthed giant named Goliath (1 Samuel 17:32). David was the puny little brother of some Israelite soldiers, but he volunteered to fight Goliath without wearing any armor.
Standing in front of his enemy, David was bold about his reliance on God. He said that the Lord had rescued him from wild animals and that he believed He would also save him from Goliath (1 Samuel 17:37). So he yelled to the hulk, “Today . . . the whole world will know that . . . the Lord rescues his people . . . . This is the Lord’s battle and He will give you to us!” (1 Samuel 17:46-47). God did rescue David. The giant died from the impact of one divinely aimed stone launched from the young man’s slingshot.
Our ability to act courageously flows from God and His power. We may be afraid or have moments of doubt, but He will fight the battle through us or for us and remove it or sustain us with His wisdom and strength. Because of Him, we can take bold action when it’s needed. We can live out what is expressed in David’s words in Psalm 28:7: “The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.”
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Numbers 14:5-45
More:
Look up Psalm 44:1-3 to see how God provided for His people as they moved into Canaan. Read Proverbs 21:30-31 to see how true success depends on God.
Next:
What’s the connection between being right in God’s eyes and being bold? (See Proverbs 28:1.) Would you describe Jesus as courageous? Why or why not?
Gary Shultz on February 20, 2017 at 5:43 am
Hi Jennifer: We do enjoy David and Goliath stories, many of today’s shows and thrillers are contrived from the likes of that kind of story. David’s was real most of the entertainment is not. I suppose like your daughter we often wonder if we had the occasion would we have the grit? Yes, the stone may have been divinely guided; however, we do know David chose his life to follow after God. His whole life had been an example of humbly seeking God in what he did and wherever he was. Not many people at that time knew it, but God did. Of course we know David had his faults, but he kept turning to God. What am I saying, as your daughter, our courage is not made up of daring acts of bravery, but placing ourselves in God’s hand. Instead of killing a giant we may be showing grace to someone in need. And yes, I would say Jesus was the King of courage, no one ever lived life, through God’s will, to give it to us, like Jesus,
Gary Shultz on February 20, 2017 at 5:56 am
Jennifer, the line did get cut off with a comma, all I had was a “did” and a period, but it missed a most important, “Thanks Jennifer”.
Tom Felten on February 20, 2017 at 10:13 am
Jennifer, I’m so glad Jesus defeated those two Goliath’s, sin and death, by His matchless sacrifice for us ( Hebrews 10:10; 1 Peter 3:18). Praise Him that we can live out a confident and bold faith in His power and provision!
hsnpoor on February 20, 2017 at 1:48 pm
I love your child’s brave boldness, but “ouch”! Thank goodness you were there to intervene, just in God’s time! Would I describe Jesus as courageous? No question about it! The way he stood up to the Jewish leaders, knowing exactly where such courage was leading Him, was/is extraordinary! IMO, that truly gave Him every right to declare Himself “The Truth” in John 14:6. It was not then, it is now and I doubt it ever will be easy for Christians to declare God’s truth to an unbelieving world that has been blinded and deluded by the Prince of this world. Thank God, He has not left us to do so on our own. Praise God, just because He IS!
hsnpoor on February 20, 2017 at 1:50 pm
P.S. I absolutely love the picture of “Little Miss Pink Pillsbury”!
pilong56 on February 20, 2017 at 9:43 pm
That often reminds me how King David went over the giant Philistine named Goliath right next to Jerusalem,Israel meaning that some of the were afraid to fight against
the Giant Goliath,accept for the shepherd boy named David who was going to be the next king of the Israelites,he had some courage with God ,he fought against the
giant Goliath.He only used a sling shot for using a stone against any wild enemies or any wild animals for testing his courage,he was also a friend of Jonathan a son
of King Saul.Always try to there for God when you need some assistance for courage.Even though He made few mistakes in his past years to become the King of Israel,when
he found out that King Saul was going to be killed with his sons accept for Jonathan who was going involved in a philistine war.He often knew that he was going
the next king of the Israelites.He only needed a woman for him whose name was Bathsheba. Until Nathan one Saul’s running mate often knew that Uriah was going to
murdered by one of King David’s guards.
Love,Liebe,Sarang,Amore
Bobby.Park