Five Stones!
1Sam. 17:40 And he(David) took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
The life of David has always fascinated me. He has been such a role model in my life and I have learned so much by studying his life and what happened to him. He loved God more than anything else and at the same time he made such mistakes in his life. He faced such immense battles and trials and was challenged to keep on trusting God. He was not his father’s favorite son and had to watch sheep while his brothers were trained in warfare. These things give me hope that what I face sometimes is not as bad.
David faced things in his life before he became the king of Israel. Before he was ever made known to Israel he faced things that would challenge him. God used these things to shape him to be the man God wanted to be on the throne of Israel. Just like the life of David, my life reminds me that everything that happens to me is God at work preparing me to step into my destiny. I believe that God does play a bigger role in my life than the enemy.
One of the first things that David faced in his life before he became known as a warrior was the envy of his brothers. When Samuel came to the house of Jesse, David’s father, to anoint a new king over Israel David was watching sheep. Samuel saw his brothers and thought that one of them must be the new king for sure. God had to speak to Samuel and they had to call David from where he was watching the sheep. Samuel anointed David while his brothers were watching. Years later David would pen the psalm about how God anointed his head in the midst of his enemies. We have no record of David being anointed in front of his enemies but only in front of his brothers and in front of all Israel when they made him king. I wonder if he was referring to his anointing the day Samuel did it in front of his family. His brothers were envious of him as we will see later as well.
The second thing that David faced was striving from his brothers. His father asked him to take bread and cheese to the battlefield. When he got to the battlefield they were striving with him and asking questions to embarrass him. “Why are you not with your sheep?” “Whom did you leave your sheep with?” They were trying to pick a fight with him. Strife is the enemy’s tactic to distract you from what is really happening.
The third thing David faced was the fear of man. Goliath came out every day for forty days and would scream at Israel. The bible says that they all were in great fear. He was challenging them and God and the fear of a man kept them in a place of passivity. They were too scared to even stand up and fight. The fear of man will keep you away from your destiny. God commanded Moses not to fear man but to judge rightly. Fear of man will contaminate your judgment. David was the only one that was not intimidated by Goliath. He didn’t have the fear of man.
The fourth thing that David faced was Saul. Saul struggled with a man pleasing spirit. When Samuel confronted him about the sacrifice he made, he blamed the men and said that they made him do it. A man pleasing spirit will undermine your call and your purpose. A man pleasing spirit is rooted in fear and a misunderstanding of you identity and call.
The fifth thing that David faced before he met Goliath was intimidation. Goliath came at him trying to intimidate him by cursing him. Intimidation is the weapon that the enemy use that have no authority. He walks around as a lion, trying ti intimidate us. This happens in the church daily. It is a political spirit and is rooted in manipulation. David had to face this intimidating spirit in Goliath. The enemy is a master at this. I have friends that have been told that if they don’t do what was asked they would be taken off of leadership. That is a spirit of manipulation and proof that the leader had no authority for what he was doing. Don’t back off from this kind of behavior.
It is interesting that David picked five stones. Maybe in his mind he was thinking: “I wonder which one I will have to kill today? Envy, strive, fear of man, man pleasing spirit or intimidation.” What ever came at him was going to lose because God prepared him beforehand to deal with it.
Do any of these five things I mentioned still rule in your life? Do you still struggle to overcome some of them? I have stood up to some of these things and have had to fight a battle to overcome. Breaking the power of these five things in your life is not easy but without dealing with these you will struggle to take your place in the kingdom.
After this encounter with Goliath, David had a reputation. He killed one giant but they sang when he came into the city; “Saul has killed his thousands but David his ten thousands.” No enemy would ever again intimidate David. His men went on to kill Goliath’s four brothers. He started something that caused others to do the same. When you stand up today and face these things you will help someone else see and step into their destiny.
