Everybody likes the story. Little David against all odds, defeats a giant of a man, Goliath. We love it when the underdog comes out on top. Its a popular theme, in movies, sports, and yes, even politics. Perhaps the reason it is so popular is that so many of us view ourselves as "underdogs," or little guys, and it gives us hope that one day we will come out on top. Now hope is a good thing. Without it people cannot survive. However, we have missed the whole point of the story if we think this is about an underdog.
First, David was not an underdog, and he did not view himself in that way at all. When he stood before the doubtful King Saul, David was far from fearful or weak. He was more like a teenage boy, lacking proper restraint, and judgment. He had killed lions and bears with his own hands, and this Philistine would fall too. Sorry. David was no underdog in his own eyes, although others may view him as such. There were underdogs in the story though. They were the ones standing on the sidelines despairing, scoffing at young David, waiting for a real hero, and the king who sat in safety and sent a young boy to do what he was afraid to do himself. Those are the underdogs in this story.
David was different from the rest. What set him apart was not his strength, fighting skills, or even his experience defeating lions and bears. What distinguished David from the rest was his deep seated confidence in God. David was a man/boy of faith, and a model for all of us in this regard. His faith went beyond mere belief in God. David believed something about God, and this faith permeated his whole life, whether in the fields watching over sheep, or on the battlefield facing a giant. And it is this faith, what David believed about God, that set him apart from the rest of the army in his own day, and from the wannabe heroes, and arm chair quarter backs of today. Of course, David surely believed in God's power, and greatness, His holiness and righteousness, as do we. But David's extraordinary confidence, came from his belief in God's sovereignty and good will toward him and the nation of Israel. Beyond this, David understood himself to be a participant not a spectator in the economy of God's dominion. God's dominion is carried out by the hands of faithful men and women.
We pray "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done..." (Oh, Lord please send somebody) I doubt that David, was in the field one day tending his sheep, when God, "gave him a word " that he was to defeat Goliath. When the lion attacked his sheep, I doubt he took a moment to pray about what he should do in this situation. When he heard Goliath blaspheming the Lord, he knew what needed to be done. King Saul saw these as two entirely different genres. David saw them as one and the same. The God who helped him kill the lion and the bear, would help him defeat Goliath.
It was not an underdog that defeated a giant, it was the Lord's servant David, simply doing his duty, in concert with his Master.
Listen, we as the people of God, have got to stop reveling in our victimization. We are not victims, we are not underdogs. We are servants of the sovereign King of the universe, co-laboring with Him to achieve his Glory in the world. His power is not lessened but perfected in our weakness. Let us therefore take hold of each day, and with the confidence of David, engage our giants. Let us work in our portion of the field that God's will be done-on our watch.
