Giant Slayer
By George “Chip” Hammond
“If God places a giant in front of you, it must be because he knows there’s a David inside of you.”
Those words written in calligraphy greeted me one morning on my social media feed, posted by an old friend from college. The rhetoric is powerful, and the thought is empowering. I’m almost positive it was the pithily made point of someone’s sermon.
Certainly, there is truth to the idea that God strengthens us to do things beyond what we think our natural abilities are. Facing a difficult situation, Paul was confident that he could “do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). He had learned to delight in his own weakness, for he discovered that “when I am weak then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).
And it wasn’t just Paul. He marveled that the Macedonian Christians, even given their own hardship, were generous beyond measure. In the midst of their own severe trial, in their own poverty they showed generosity and “they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability” (2 Corinthians 8:3).
And there were those “who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight” (Hebrews 11:33-34).
God calls on us to do things beyond ourselves, things out of our comfort zone and our own abilities so that we must rely upon him. And maybe that is well summed up in saying “If God places a giant in front of you, it must be because he knows there’s a David inside of you.” But I wonder . . .
I don’t mean to pick nits, nor be some kind of faultfinder. Perhaps one could read 1 Samuel 17 and legitimately make the point that there’s a David inside each of us. But when I read the New Testament, it seems to point me to a different conclusion.
Jesus is “the son of David” – he’s called by that name so many times in the Gospels by both the writers and the people he ministers to that it’s hard to count. He is given the throne of his father David (Luke 1:32). The promises spoken to David are his in a way they could never have applied to David (see Acts 2:22-36).
All this begs a question from us: are we the Davids who are called to slay Goliaths? Go back and read 1 Samuel 17. Are you really David in the story? I’m not. I’m more like David’s brothers, like the other men of Israel. I face giants that I can’t possibly take on.
It’s not that I’m a champion. It’s that I need a champion.
“If God places a giant in front of you, it must be because he knows there’s a David inside of you.” It’s powerful rhetoric. Perhaps it’s not untrue. But I wonder if it would be truer to the story of redemption and the story of our own lives to read 1 Samuel 17 and conclude, not “If God places a giant in front of you, it must be because he knows there’s a David inside of you,” but rather “If God places a giant in front of you, it must be because he’s sent a David to rescue you.”
Perhaps I’m a weakling, but that’s my story. It’s not that I’m a champion, it’s that I need a Champion, and Jesus has come for me to be that Champion. Perhaps the conclusion I should draw from the story of David and Goliath is that I need a Champion, and that his grace is sufficient, and his strength is perfected in my weakness.
Original giant figurine photo by Brett Jordon
