Friday – April 22, 2022

Scripture

1 Samuel 17: 34-37

But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Words of Hope

The story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 is a story that is taught a lot in children’s messages and Vacation Bible School events. It follows the basic storyline; there is a problem (verse 1), a villain (verse 4) and an unlikely hero (verse 32) who wins the day (verse 50). We know the story of God’s people being under attack from the Philistines; taunted by a giant champion in Goliath; the boy, David, shrugging off King Saul’s armor because it was too big and heavy for him; David selecting five smooth stones from a stream and successfully confronting Goliath with nothing more than an unswerving confidence in Christ our Savior.

In chapter 16, the prophet Samuel anointed David as the next king of Israel and he was equipped with the Spirit of the Lord that came upon David with power. With God’s Spirit within him, David declared his trust in the name of Christ. On the basis of his trust in God, God’s people were saved from their enemies as David, then only a boy, won a great victory for them.

In Chapter 16 we are reminded a lot about what Jesus did for us. Jesus is our Messiah who came not to win over the world leaders of his time but to achieve an eternal victory over sin and death for all of God’s people. We, also, have God at work in and through us. God works in us through the Word of God to equip us for every good work as we await the return of Jesus. What is this good work? It is for us to go forth proclaiming the good news of Jesus through his saving work on the cross, overcoming death in resurrection and his coming again.

Prayer

Dear God, thank you for the ways that you inspired David to overcome obstacles. Give us the courage to overcome obstacles in our life and ask for help if need it along the way.

Devotion Author

Staci Orr