God Will Fight Your Battles
“This is how I fight my battles.”
I boldly proclaimed in my mind and to any Goliath that dared to stand before me.
I was thinking of David. A young shepherd boy who arrived at the battlefield one day and didn’t find a battle taking place. He found trained and seasoned soldiers of war cowering in fear and an uncircumcised Philistine running his mouth, mocking God and God’s people.
Note, I didn’t say David found a giant.
Why?
David didn’t refer to him as the “giant on the other side of the valley making threats and spewing insults.”
No, he referred to him as an uncircumcised Philistine. In David’s perspective, as he looked across the valley and took note of the one taunting God’s people, he very simply saw an enemy of God that needed to be defeated.
Interesting perspective, huh?
David was just a boy.
The only reason he was on the battlefield that day was because his father sent him to take his soldier brothers food and report back on how they were faring. A worried father, using his youngest son to check in on his older sons was what led to one of the most renowned victories of all time.
Regardless of the circumstance that led David to the battlefield that day, it was most certainly by God’s divine appointment.
David had no formal training as a soldier. In fact, the only training he seemed to have was not respected in that time. He was a shepherd boy. A keeper of the stinky, not-so-intelligent sheep.
When I imagine what this job would entail, I think of long and drawn-out days overseeing a bunch of fuzzy beasts that get themselves in the most senseless of predicaments, simply because they aren’t the wisest of creatures.
I imagine the boredom one would have, wandering around day after day, with the sole company being that of the sheep. I especially believe this could be even more of a dull task for a young boy. Instead of playing with village friends or training to become a mighty soldier, he was sent off to be the keeper of his father’s flock.
The Bible doesn’t go into much detail about what David’s days looked like as a shepherd; however, there are some details I noticed as I read through the story most recently that I hadn’t observed in my previous readings.
Young David was assigned by his father to take food to his brothers. This task would naturally take him away from the sheep for the time he was fulfilling this duty. Scripture doesn’t tell us that David’s father found a keeper for the sheep while David was away. It tells of young David finding a keeper for the sheep while he fulfilled his father’s request.
Scripture also tells us that when David arrived at the battlefield, he found a keeper for his carriage while he went in search of his brothers.
Though these details may not stand out as extraordinary compared to the rest of this story, I find these two little moments in the story to be important in setting the foundation for the characteristics of the young boy who was about to do what seasoned soldiers were too fearful to do.
These details tell us that David was not just a boy who would allow his excitement to carry him away and carelessly leave behind the sheep and the carriage in that youthful zeal.
David, despite his age, had a matured sense of responsibility. He had taken ownership of the sheep and the carriage, so much so that he assured both were in good hands before setting off to accomplish his task.
Responsibility is a strong attribute for anyone to have, but especially so for a young boy.
The care David took to place the sheep and carriage in sure hands reflects a level of care that David had developed at some point during his shepherding experience.
I am led to believe that in the days David spent overseeing the sheep, keeping them out of harm’s way, mending their wounds and leading them to sources of food and water, he developed a sense of attachment to them that one would not have by simply passing them by on the way to town.
The story reflects that David placed his own life at risk to stand between his father’s sheep and wild beasts that came to attack and kill. With his bare hands David took on a bear and a lion to defend the flock.
These are quite courageous attributes for a young boy to possess.
While he may have had some natural inclinations of bravery, I truly believe that the time David spent with the sheep, the efforts he put forth in leading and caring for the sheep, the sacrifices he made in protecting the sheep, all worked together to create within him the characteristics of a soldier.
It isn’t every day we make a correlation between a shepherd and a soldier. But the two have a lot in common.
To be a shepherd, a great deal of sacrifice is required. Placement as the overseer in a field of sheep is not a glorious position one would seek out. It requires a keen sense of awareness, demands a selfless depth of dedication, can be a dirty job, and can oftentimes be dangerous as the sheep are prime prey for nature’s predators.
To be a soldier, there is also a great deal of sacrifice that must be made. The battlefield is not a glorious position and soldiers must be constantly aware of their surroundings and dedicated to the mission without reserve. Soldiers are naturally in environments that are dirty and most often in harms’ way, as they are positioned in combat to fight battles.
So, even though young David did not have formal training as a mighty soldier, the young boy who appeared on the battlefield that day had within him a foundation and disposition finely crafted to allow him to take the stance as a soldier.
As Goliath’s voice travelled across the valley, mocking and taunting God’s people, that shepherd soldier disposition rose within him – a disposition others on the battlefield that day did not possess.
Instead of seeing a dangerous giant who could take David’s life with little effort, David saw a foe and a people who needed protecting.
David did not see the years of specialized training Goliath had to develop into the mighty soldier he had the reputation of being.
David did not see a giant who stood head and soldiers above his boyish frame.
David did not see the armor that Goliath donned that was created to be impenetrable.
David did not see the armor bearer standing with Goliath, bearing his shield, helping him fight in battle.
David did not see Goliath’s past victories or bloodshed he had left in his path.
David did not see his own small, youthful stature as a weakness or even a hindrance.
No.
What David did see inspires me every time I think about it.
This young boy saw an enemy of God and God’s people. He saw a people who needed protection from this enemy. And he saw the Mighty God who could take victory over this enemy that served as a threat against God’s people.
David’s perspective is certainly a good reminder of the perspective we must remember to take on when the Goliaths in our lives rise to stand before us and begin their taunting.
David’s perspective on this day and the training he cultivated as an overseer of sheep in the time that led up to this day, allowed this young boy to take on an undefeated foe with nothing more than five smooth stones, a determination to protect his people, and an unshakable faith in God.
“Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls 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 all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.”
Most are familiar with the rest of this story.
Mighty Goliath, full of pride and confidence in his size, his strength, and his skills was no match for this young boy with five smooth stones and the mighty God who he knew would fight his battles.
With one smooth stone from David’s boyhood slingshot this mighty giant was struck in the one place his impenetrable armor didn’t reach and he fell to the ground much like I imagine Lucifer fell from Heaven when he was cast out.
The previously unconquerable foe of God’s people lay lifeless on the battlefield with the stone of an untrained and unskilled shepherd boy lodged in his forehead.
There were no more mocking words bellowing from this giant’s lips.
There were no more threats to harm God’s people.
There was just a lifeless giant silenced by a boy with a smooth stone and a steadfast trust in God.
David walked over to the shell of what was once the feared Goliath. He picked up the giant’s sword and used Goliath’s very own weapon formed to destroy God’s people to cut off his head. This was an ultimate sign of victory and a message of triumph for the enemy.
I am reminded of this scripture in the book of Isaiah:
“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”
This is how I must fight my battles.
This is how you must fight your battles.
Just as young David was positioned in the inglorious and undesirable position of a shepherd boy, it was there he developed the necessary characteristics and disposition he would need to rise on the battlefield and make the transition from shepherd to soldier.
The place God has positioned you may feel isolating. This place may leave you frustrated, as I imagine David might have been as he watched other boys his age enjoying their childhood or getting to train to become a mighty soldier.
This place may feel undesirable and maybe even seem meaningless. You may desire a greater mission in life and feel as though this dirty, stinky, undesirable place you are in right now is just a waste of precious time that you could be using to work toward that greater mission.
Had David not spent time as a shepherd. Had he not invested his time and energy into leading and guiding the sheep. Had he not been placed in charge of the sheep’s safety; he would not have developed the attachment and responsibility for them that overrode concern for his own life when the bear and the lion came to attack.
Had David not positioned himself in harm’s way and defended the sheep, he would not have conquered the bear and the lion with his bare hands.
Had he not been in the position to defend the sheep, he would not have experienced the mighty power of God that allowed him to do such an unimageable feat in slaying Goliath.
Had it not been for this shepherd boy gaining a personal responsibility for the sheep and seeing God use him in his youth, smallness, and inexperience, David would not have possessed the characteristics or the faith it required to stand against the giant that day on the battlefield.
Your undesirable placement. Your uncomfortable positioning. Your seemingly “wasted time.” Your shortcomings and lack of “expected” experience and expertise are the exact devices God is using to cultivate within you a soldier who is ready to stand before unconquerable giants, slay them with weapons not naturally crafted for warfare, and cut off their heads – sending a message that God wins and He always will.
This is how God fights your battles.
This is how God prepares you for battle.
This is how God leads you to victory in battle.