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We've seen that David was able to leave his mark on this world and kill his giant because he had found his focus prior to ever meeting Goliath in the Valley of Elah. David’s focus was squarely rooted in the ability of God to work in and through Him and because of his focus, David was more interested in God’s fame and reputation than in his self-preservation.
In fact, David was the only person in 1 Samuel 17 that even cared enough to fight for God. This is significant since David had a lot to lose. Obviously, he could have died. He was not a trained fighter. He was young, inexperienced, and normal sized compared to Goliath being 9 feet tall. Most importantly though, David had just been selected to be the next King of Israel (1 Samuel 16:1-13) because God had rejected Israel’s current king, Saul (1 Samuel 15: 10-23; 16:1). None of that mattered though, because David had found his focus and placed it squarely on God.
Another principle that we can gain from this epic story is that David had found his fit long before he ever accepted Goliath’s challenge of hand-to-hand combat where the loser would be the slave of the winner. While Goliath was a mountain of a man, David knew that God was able to work through him like he already had in the past.
FIND YOUR FIT
Prior to fighting Goliath, David went to King Saul and asked to be Israel’s champion who would fight against Goliath and defend the honor of Israel’s God. While you would think that Saul would be relieved that someone had finally stepped up to take care of this mountainous man, he was not relieved at all.
“And David said to Saul, ‘Let no man’s heart fail because of [Goliath]. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.’” - 1 Samuel 17:32-33
Clearly, Saul was nervous about David being the guy to fight Goliath, which would either enslave the nation of Israel to the Philistines or vice versa (1 Samuel 17:8-9), because David was “but a youth”. You see, the Hebrew word that King Saul uses to describe David is na-ar (נַ֫עַר) which basically means that he was calling David a little boy. Saul was probably right in calling him this though. According to Israelite law (Numbers 1:3), anyone under the age of 20 was forbidden to go to war so we know that David was younger than 20 years of age. Additionally, David’s three oldest brothers, there were eight total (12-14), were the only ones who followed King Saul to war against the Philistines. Therefore, David must have been in his early teenage years.
Anyone in their right mind would have questioned sending David into battle against Goliath, who was over 9 feet tall according to some estimates and was most likely “a descendant of a tribe of giants known as the Anakim, or descendants of Anak (Numbers 13:33). [Goliath was] probably serving … as a foreign mercenary or soldier of fortune.” (A to Z: All the Names in the Bible, 253) Goliath was a beast and David was a boy. Yet, David’s focus was squarely set on God because he had seen God work through him before when he was shepherding his Dad’s sheep.
“But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.’ And David said, ‘The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the LORD be with you!’” - 1 Sam. 17:34-37
David was confident because he knew that God would not fail him. He knew that he could defeat Goliath, because he had killed lions and bears (OH MY!). He knew he could kill Goliath because he had found his fit while serving as a shepherd for his Dad. However, Saul was still not comfortable about seeing a ‘little boy’ fight a battle-hardened giant. So Saul had his men put his own armor on David so that he could be protected from Goliath’s body blows. Yet, David tells him … “Saul, ‘I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.’ So David put them off. Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.” (1 Sam. 17:39-40)
David went completely unprotected to fight Goliath. He could not fight the giant using Saul’s armor because it did not fit him, nor was he comfortable in them. David had found his fit long before meeting Goliath in that valley. He had found what was comfortable for him to use in battle. He was comfortable using just a sling and staff against his enemy. He was comfortable not having armor weighing him down and making him slow. He was comfortable in relying on God to protect him during battle. David had found his fit and he was not going to allow anything to impede him.
Have you found your fit in life?
We all want to leave our mark on this world, but most of us don't know how to turn our dreams into reality. However, we can use the principles that are in the story of David and Goliath to help us leave our mark on this life.
David left his mark on this world because he had found his focus and placed it squarely on God. He had also found his fit in that he would not allow anyone else’s sense of protection impede him from fighting his enemy like he always had.
Think about it. If David had killed lions and bears without any armor or protection other than a staff and sling, he should probably continue fighting that way because his speed, agility, and responsiveness to attack were his strengths. If David had allowed Saul’s armor to stay on him, he would have been slowed down, impeded, and dressed for hand-to-hand combat, which were not David’s strengths. David was built for speed and not strength and he had found that out long before meeting Goliath.
What is your fit?
While we may not be fighting an actual 9 foot giant physically, we all have giants in our lives that are trying to crush us, keep us from all that God has in store for us, and stop us from leaving our mark on this world.
We’ve seen that David had found his fit or better had discovered his natural talents and calling. He was built for speed and agility so his clothing and weaponry reflected that. Likewise, Saul, even though God had rejected him as Israel’s king, had found his fit as well. He was built for hand-to-hand combat so he wore armor and carried a sword. Finally, Goliath was naturally built for strength, stamina, and obviously height. Therefore, he had full body armor, a sword and shield, and a massive javelin. Each of these guys had found their fit and what was most comfort to fight in.
Like David, Goliath, and Saul who all had natural gifts, abilities, and tendencies, you do as well. You have a natural fit that is unique to you and operating within that natural fit will ultimately help you leave your mark on this world. You might be a natural leader who is able to assemble a team that changes the world. You might be a natural when it comes to public speaking and be able to rouse an apathetic crowd into action. You might be a natural when it comes to figuring out workflow systems that help boost productivity and profits.Whatever it is, operate within that natural fit so that you have a better chance of leaving your mark on this world.
Now, there are also supernatural gifts and abilities that God can outfit you with. Those gifts are given by the Holy Spirit only to people who have willingly surrendered their life to Jesus and entered into a relationship with him. These supernatural or spiritual gifts normally boost your natural gifts as well.
Mine, for example, would be that I am naturally gifted at public speaking. While I do get nervous about speaking in front of a crowd, it does not stop me from doing it and I normally am pumped to share or teach new things to a crowd. Now, couple that natural gift of speaking with a spiritual gift of preaching and teaching, then I have found my fit in this life and if I continue to operate within that fit I will inevitably leave my mark on this world.
You can find lists of spiritual gifts at 1 Corinthians 12:1, 4-10 and Romans 12:6-8.
Also, check out this FREE ONLINE TEST that will help you find your fit so that you can leave your mark on this world.
You can kill the giants in your life. You do not have to be intimidated, impeded, or immobilzed by them. You can kill your giants if you focus on Jesus and find your fit in him.
Check back next week as we conclude our journey through the story of David and Goliath as we find out how he found his fight.
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