A Sling and a Stone
"So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone" (1 Samuel 17:50.
One of the joys of consistent Bible intake is that you notice increasingly the little turns of phrase that God intends to capture our imagination. Here's one of them: "David prevailed...with a sling and a stone."
That's no inconsequential detail; in one sense it's the point of the whole story. How did little David defeat giant Goliath? With a sling and a stone. That is to say: "David didn't prevail over Goliath at all; God did." The attention is drawn to the means David used in order to make it clear that something/Someone other than David and the means was the real cause of David's victory.
Of course David knew this and made sure that everyone did too when he says in 1 Samuel 17:45-47--
God loves to use slings and stones and borrowed swords because bigger weapons just might tempt us to credit the means rather than the Maker.
So what are your Goliaths? Sin, abortion, secularism, an unsaved loved one, discouragement, an ugly or evil habit, the culture war? You can be sure of two things: God will give the victory, and God will get the glory. And most likely He will acheive the latter by using some small effort, some inconsequential word, some lesser gift, some quiet insignificant act, some otherwise un-noteworthy person to achieve the former.
Let us never despair if it seems that the enemy has all the big guns on his side. For we've got a God whose really good with a sling and an arrow, and He loves to use it.
One of the joys of consistent Bible intake is that you notice increasingly the little turns of phrase that God intends to capture our imagination. Here's one of them: "David prevailed...with a sling and a stone."
That's no inconsequential detail; in one sense it's the point of the whole story. How did little David defeat giant Goliath? With a sling and a stone. That is to say: "David didn't prevail over Goliath at all; God did." The attention is drawn to the means David used in order to make it clear that something/Someone other than David and the means was the real cause of David's victory.
Of course David knew this and made sure that everyone did too when he says in 1 Samuel 17:45-47--
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.
God loves to use slings and stones and borrowed swords because bigger weapons just might tempt us to credit the means rather than the Maker.
So what are your Goliaths? Sin, abortion, secularism, an unsaved loved one, discouragement, an ugly or evil habit, the culture war? You can be sure of two things: God will give the victory, and God will get the glory. And most likely He will acheive the latter by using some small effort, some inconsequential word, some lesser gift, some quiet insignificant act, some otherwise un-noteworthy person to achieve the former.
Let us never despair if it seems that the enemy has all the big guns on his side. For we've got a God whose really good with a sling and an arrow, and He loves to use it.
Labels: Culture War, Family, Mission, Witness
posted by Tim Shorey at
3:10 PM
1 Comments:
Hey, guys. I know this is a bit off the subject. But since we've been on "culture wars", and since Tim has sent a letter to The Asbury Park Press, I thought I might share this:
If you have a moment, check out: APP.com and follow this string: Opinion / Forums / News / App-Opinion.
I just posted a comment on a "Darwin Day" discussion that started back in Feb. of 2008. I was involved back then, and there have been about 1900 comments.
If you look at it, pls let me know what you think. It's just my little sling and stone, but God sometimes uses such things, as Tim points out!
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