Living FROM victory, not FOR victory

Bible: 1 Samuel 17

One of my favorite childhood memories growing up in the church, was when I got to dress up as David. You are maybe familiar with the story of David and Goliath. This seemingly impossible story about a kid who takes on and defeats the greatest, strongest, meanest, and biggest warrior of his time. And I got to dress up and be him!! I was so excited when I got to put on my battle armor, pick up my slingshot, and shoot marshmallows at my friend who was Goliath. And isn’t that what we all do when we read the story? Maybe not the marshmallow thing, but we put ourselves in this story as David. We read it as if I have enough faith and trust in God I can conquer whatever comes my way. But what if that’s not the whole story, what if there’s something even better to this story?

We so often place ourselves in the story as David, but I think we’re more like the Israelites. We read that Goliath would come out each day and call out to the Israelites, asking them to send out their greatest warrior. And the Israelites response in 1 Samuel 17:11… “On hearing the Philistine’s (Goliath) words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.” When faced with this huge obstacle… loss of job, financial issues, divorce, fears, your past… you fill it in. How often do we become dismayed and terrified - wanting to give up, feeling like there’s no way to overcome our situation, depressed? But that’s where David, that’s where Jesus enters into the story.

We read David approaches Goliath and Goliath just laughs. What chance does this kid have at defeating the mightiest warrior? How was Jesus going to overcome the sin of the entire world? 1 Samuel 17:47, “ All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” “The battle is the Lord’s”… just think on that for a second… the battle isn’t yours, it’s God’s. And spoiler alert, God wins. David defeats Goliath with a sling and a stone, Jesus defeats sin on the cross.

1 Samuel 17:51-52, “When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. Then the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued the Philistines to the entrance of Gath and to the gates of Ekron.” It wasn’t until Goliath was defeated that the Israelites pursued the Philistines. It was out of victory that the Israelites had the strength and will to move forward. You and I don’t fight the obstacles in our life for victory -  the battle has already been won. You and I fight FROM victory. It is through Jesus’ victory that we find our strength, our hope, and our courage to take on whatever comes our way. Let’s live a life from Jesus’ victory!

Prayer: Thank God for his victory and ask him for guidance in your situation/obstacles.

Song: “See a Victory” Elevation Worship https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEK6_rz26z0 

-Zach