David Trusts GOD

David Trusts GOD

2025 Theme:  Faithfulness

Series Title:  Trust:  Faith’s Home

Scripture:  1 Samuel 17:32-51

January 26^th, 2025

Something to think about:

A king, a giant, and a 14-year-old boy face each other in battle.  Who wins? 

The one who trusts in GOD.

We come to another story of faithfulness and trust today as we close out our series.  It’s the famous Biblical narrative of David and Goliath. 

We enter the scene after David has come to the battlefield to bring his brother’s food from home.  While there, he witnesses the Philistine warrior, Goliath, taunting the Israelites to come fight him, with the caveat that only one needed come onto the field and fight.  If the strongest soldier from the Israelites can beat Him, then the Philistines will become slaves of Israel, but if Goliath wins, the Israelites will become their slaves.  Needless to say, David is incensed by this, and realizes that Saul, nor Israel’s army are going to do anything about it.  So, David determines to go out and fight Goliath, and this is where we pick up the rest of the story…

Turn in your Bible to:  1 Samuel 17:32-51

This whole narrative is about the faithfulness of GOD and the trust that David had in Him.

Key Point:  “David’s trust in GOD was greater than the Giant he faced on the battlefield.”

This story is a story of contrasts.  The following is a dialogue on the contrasts of faith and faithfulness among the main characters of the story:

• David’s  .

1 Samuel 17:2, 37a (NLT), ² “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul.  “I’ll go fight him!” … ³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

• Saul’s  .

1 Samuel 17:33, 37b (NLT),  ³³ “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied.  “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win!  You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” … Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said.  “And may the Lord be with you!”

• GOD’s  .

1 Samuel 17:45-50 (NLT),  ⁴⁵ David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  ⁴⁶ Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head.  And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!  ⁴⁷ And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear.  This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

⁴⁸ As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.  ⁴⁹ Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead.  The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.

⁵⁰ So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword.  ⁵¹ Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath.  David used it to kill him and cut off his head.

Something to take home:

Pastor Bob Deffinbaugh writes,

“We were not intended to read this account and say, ‘How great David was!’  We were meant to read this text and say, ‘What a great God David served, and how great was the deliverance He brought about!’  David did have faith, faith in the character and power of the God he served.  This is entirely consistent with the way God works.  What I am saying is that the story of David and Goliath is not really exceptional or unusual; the story of David and Goliath illustrates a principle that is the norm for how God uses people.  God uses the weak so that He will get the glory when great things are accomplished.”[1]

1 Corinthians 1:27-29, 31 (NLT),  ²⁷  God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.  And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.  ²⁸ God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.  ²⁹ As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. … ³¹  If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.”

So, do you trust GOD like David did?  Is your trust in Him greater than the “Giants” you are facing right now?  When you fight the battles that GOD calls you to fight, He will give you the strength to win in ways you never thought possible.

Key Point:  “David’s trust in GOD was greater than the Giant he faced on the battlefield.”

[1] Deffinbaugh, Bob. 2017. “David and Goliath: The Battle Is the Lord’s - Biblical Eldership Resources.” Biblical Eldership Resources. August 10, 2017. https://www.biblicaleldership.com/2017/07/19/david-goliath-battle-lords/.