When David faced Goliath in 1 Samuel 17, he made some fearless, bold statements. They were, however, not statements made in confidence in his own ability but in his God’s ability to do the impossible. He knew what he could do and that would not be enough. But, he knew what his God could and would do and that was everything.
    David did not just boast that God would deliver their enemies into their hands, but that when He did, they would all know that “the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s …” (1 Samuel 17:47). God is not a God to do things in the way that we would expect. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. Our logic is not His logic. Sometimes, we try to figure God out, figure out His strategy, how He would or could work the situation out. But God is not moved by our opinion and strategies but His. Remember, they tried to get David to use familiar weapons but that was not how God was going to fight and win this battle. 
    The reality is, God’s battle strategy, God’s solution to our problem, is not always the way we might expect or hope … and that’s fine. God does not need to win the battle our way but His way. Who would have expected or even chosen, one, a young boy to fight against Goliath, or two, that his weapons would be a sling shot and a stone. This whole battle strategy did not make any sense. In fact, it was downright laughable. Yet, that’s exactly who and what God chose to use … and it worked! It worked not because of who and what was chosen but because of God’s power working through who and what He chose to use. It was still all God. He does not share His glory with another. 
    I am reminded of two stories. The first is the Israelites crossing of the Red Sea. They were trapped between the Egyptians who were pursuing them and a huge body of water they could not possibly cross. Yet, God had set this whole scenario up (Exodus 14:1-4). When the Israelites complained in fear, God through Moses told them: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:13-14). The reality is that the Israelites had no weapons with which to fight the Egyptians and they had no means with which to cross the Red Sea. God had to do this.                 
    Sometimes God just sets us up. This situation was just as impossible as the confrontation between David and Goliath. Yet, God came through for the Israelites. He did what had never been done before. He parted the Red Sea and while this was a way of escape for His people, it was also the method He used to destroy their enemies. The Israelites did not have to use any sword or spear, they just had to trust their God. 
    The second story tells of the combined armies that rose up against king Jehoshaphat and Judah. When Jehoshaphat and his people turned to the Lord in fear, God’s answer to them was: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem” (2 Chronicles 20:15 & 17). Interestingly, they truly did not have to fight their enemies. Singers went before the army singing praises to God. As they did so, their enemies began to fight against one another until they were completely consumed. All the Israelites had to do, was gather the spoil from their enemies’s dead bodies. Here, the weapon was worship. As they focused on their God and sang praises to Him, He fought that battle for them. 
    This all excites me because we cannot box God in. Our way of doing things and God’s way, are two different things. We don’t have to worry when our own ideas and solutions seem limited or even non-existent. God’s got us and He knows exactly the tools and weapons to use to fight and win on our behalf. Even when what we do have in our hands is limited, God will take and use the little that we have and empower it to do the job. It’s still all about God and about His amazing ability to do the impossible … His way.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. There is no loss in serving a God whose power and ability are limitless and many times incomprehensible. God will not fail us. He will fight on our behalf and whatever or whoever He chooses to use, even though it may not make sense to us, He will empower and enable to get the job done. Just trust Him!
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    Last week, I shared on David’s bold response to Goliath’s threat to kill him. He did not respond with fear or uncertainty. He knew his God, he knew what his God could do and he responded with confidence in a God who would deliver him and his people from the enemy.
    Yet, David did not stop there. He proceeded to tell Goliath: “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand” (v.46a). David was becoming bolder and bolder as he faced Goliath. He was not intimidated by his size, experience or strength because he knew someone personally who could cut this giant down to size - GOD! 
    It is only when you have that kind of experiential relationship with God, that you can make bold boasts about him. David was never boasting in himself and what he could do by himself. He knew that God and God alone would be the one to win this battle. He never said he would deliver Goliath into his hands, but that God would be the one to do it. He was super-confident in his God.
    When faced with impossible battles where you personally know that you would lose, this is the kind of faith and boldness that is needed. God does not expect us to fight our battles alone. Rather, He expects that we would give it over to Him and He would fight and win on our behalf. Interestingly, I think for many of us, the problem isn’t in God’s ability to do it but rather, will He do it in the particular situation we are in. I wondered to myself about David’s confident boasting. He never spoke from the point of what his God could do, but from the point of what his God would do. David went way beyond to God’s willingness, something that many of us struggle with. We wonder what’s God’s will is as we face various situations in our lives. 
    As I wondered about David’s confidence that God would deliver their enemies into their hands, I thought of what God had actually done in David’s own life. David had witnessed God help him kill a lion and a bear to save the sheep in his care. The Israelites were God’s sheep and David knew that God would not give up on His people. When he made a stand for God’s people, he knew God would stand with him … just as He had done for mere sheep. 
    As God’s children, God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. When challenges and trials come, we need to know that God isn’t there on the sidelines, unconcernedly watching us suffer and struggle. When we turn to Him, and we trust Him for the answer, He will help us. The reality is that the answer may not always look the way we would like it to look but it will certainly be His best for us.
    David had experienced what God had done and he spoke from this confidence. Maybe in our own situation, we need to say what God would do based on what His Word says. His Word says that the battle belongs to Him (2 Chronicles 20:15), that He will fight for us (Exodus 14:14), that when the righteous cry out to Him, He hears and delivers (Psalm 34:17). Maybe we need to just fix our eyes on Him instead of being so focused on the situation. The wrong focus can bring discouragement, despair and certainly put a dent in our faith. When our focus is on Him, we will be encouraged, we will be strengthened, we will expect what David expected - a favourable outcome in an otherwise impossible situation. 
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. There is nothing that our God cannot do. He will never do less than His best for us, His children. When He fights on our behalf, all He wants us to do is trust that He will do it and that He will not fail us.

    I have been doing some Bible study on 1 Samuel 17 for some time now. You may be familiar with the story of David and Goliath. David heard the giant Goliath sending out a challenge to the Israelite army. He challenged someone to come forward and fight against him. Whichever person won, the opposing nation would become subject to the winning side. 
    David decided that he would fight Goliath. Keep in mind that David was a mere boy, inexperienced in battle, while Goliath was trained for battle since he was young. Goliath scoffed when he saw the young, inexperienced David before him (vv.42-43). He was convinced he would win and that this would be an easy contest. He went as far as to curse David by his gods and promised to feed his flesh to the birds and wild animals (vv.43b-44).
    When David heard this, he boldly said, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (v.45). David was confident because he knew God would fight for him. He knew that he was outnumbered and ill-equipped, but the God he was relying on was well able to handle the enemy’s weapons. The enemy’s intimidating weapons could not defeat his All-Powerful God!
    What weapons are you using when the enemy comes against you? The enemy may come against you with weapons of sickness and disease, lies and intimidation, attacks against your finances, your family, even your mind. But what weapons are you using in return? Maybe like the Israelite army, you are retaliating with fear. Maybe hatred, bitterness, unforgiveness seem like powerful weapons. 
    David trusted his God to be his most powerful and effective weapon against his enemy. He knew what his God could do. After all, God had helped him fight against and defeat a lion and a bear when they came against his sheep. “This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. This very day, I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel” (v.46). David boasted about what he would do to Goliath and the Philistine army but it was not a boast in his own strength, but God’s.
    “All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands” (v.47). The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, they are not man-made. They are mighty through God! (2 Corinthians 10:4) It may have seemed as if Goliath had the unfair advantage - size, experience and man-made weapons. He even had a shield bearer who was going before him against David (v.41). But, David was the one who had the unfair advantage. Goliath lost that fight before he even started … he just did not know it. Interestingly, the only one who knew this was David. His words reveal his confidence in what he expected God to do. Not even king Saul or the Israelite army expected David to win. 
    When challenges and battles come your way, what are you expecting God to do? What weapons are you choosing to use? Why not choose the weapon of the Word of God. His Word cannot return to Him without accomplishing what He wants it to accomplish. What about praise and worship? What about faith and trust in Him and in His ability to fight and win for you? And what about the weapon of prayer? These are all powerful weapons that God has equipped us with to face whatever comes our way. They are certainly not ineffective but mighty through God to destroy the works of the enemy. God has already equipped you with these weapons, so use them!!!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. As a child of God, God has not left you ill-equipped or ill-prepared to handle whatever comes your way. You have the right weapons for every battle and the perfect God who will fight for you! Trust Him!
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    Frank had an unsettling dream. He dreamt that he was dying and he kept begging God not to take him. A week later, he began to experience numbness in his left arm and teeth. He told his wife about it and they both agreed that he should go to the hospital. They reached out to friends and church family who lifted him up in prayer.
    At the hospital, when he told the doctors what was happening to him they immediately called for the stroke trauma team. Initial tests revealed that he was having a stroke, a blood clot in his brain. He was transferred to another hospital where doctors performed surgery to insert a stent to restore blood flow to the blocked artery. However, before the surgery could be performed, he insisted on calling his pastor to pray for him. Doctors reluctantly agreed. After the prayer, his pastor told him that he could tell that he had received his prayer for him and that he was going to be okay and that this would be a big testimony for the Lord. 
    The doctors, however, in spite of their efforts, were unable to put in the stent. Instead, they were amazed to discover that there was so much blood on the left side of his brain that it compensated for the right side of his brain. In short, the blood vessels on the left side of his brain, had enlarged and miraculously compensated for the stroke. This lead to a full recovery. The doctor admitted that he had never witnessed that in all his years as a doctor.
    Frank and his wife are grateful to God and Frank is determined to be a mouthpiece for God, declaring that in this present day and age healing miracles are possible because he, Frank, is living proof.
    I admit, I was amazed at the way God chose to heal Frank. God did not allow man to intervene. He could have and He would have directed the doctors what to do. Instead, God chose to perform a miracle, allowing Frank’s body to heal itself. God can choose to heal us in different ways. He can use man’s intervention through surgery and / or medication or He can simply perform a miracle that cannot be explained. The latter is what He did for Frank. 
    What is also interesting is the fact that, although the doctors tried, they were unable to insert the stent. I believe God prevented them from being able to do so. Sometimes, it may seem as if the enemy is trying to stop our healing, or our deliverance. But that may not always be the case. Sometimes, God Himself is the hindrance, not because He doesn’t want us healed but He wants to do something greater. 
    I recall here the story of Lazarus (John 11:1-43). When Jesus got word of his illness, He chose not to go to him right away. By the time He and the disciples got to Lazarus, he had been dead for four days. Jesus’ delay in going to Lazarus may have seemed insensitive, but He knew that the greater miracle would be in his death and resurrection rather than in his healing from sickness. 
    God’s ways and thoughts are not ours. He does not always do things the way we would expect. He may allow delays, He may allow obstacles but it will always be for a greater good, for an unexpected miracle to take place. As I love to say, God wants the best for us. His best may not always look the way we might expect but we can trust that whatever He does and however He chooses to do it, things will work out for our good.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. When your life is in God’s capable hands, you can rest assured that you will be well taken care of. No matter what comes your way, God will always have the final say and His say will always be His best for you!