1 Samuel 17:4-11 (NLT)
4 Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was over nine feet[a] tall! 5 He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. [b] 6 He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. 7 The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. [c] His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield.
8 Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! 9 If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! 10 I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!” 11 When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.
1 Samuel 17:17-26 (NLT)
17 One day Jesse said to David, “Take this basket[a] of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread and carry them quickly to your brothers. 18 And give these ten cuts of cheese to their captain. See how your brothers are getting along, and bring back a report on how they are doing. [b]” 19 David’s brothers were with Saul and the Israelite army at the valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.
20 So David left the sheep with another shepherd and set out early the next morning with the gifts, as Jesse had directed him. He arrived at the camp just as the Israelite army was leaving for the battlefield with shouts and battle cries. 21 Soon the Israelite and Philistine forces stood facing each other, army against army. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies and hurried out to the ranks to greet his brothers. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel.
24 As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright. 25 “Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”
26 David asked the soldiers standing nearby, “What will a man get for killing this Philistine and ending his defiance of Israel? Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?”
1 Samuel 17:32-50 (NLT)
32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”
33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”
34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”
38 Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. 39 David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.
“I can’t go in there,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. 40 He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.
41 Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, 42 sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 43 “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. 44 “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled 45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47 And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”
48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49 Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword.A couple of weeks ago my family, along with millions of other families tuned in to watch the Super Bowl. The New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles would provide this year’s entertainment.
Although the Super Bowl is to determine the NFL’s Championship team, many are excited to tune in for other reasons, such as to watch the new commercials roll out. Others enjoy attending Super Bowl parties for food, fun, and fellowship.
Now there are also your die-hard football fans, and that would be the group that my family is in. I am from a family that loves just about any sport, but football, baseball, and basketball are at the top of the list.
This year most bets were on the New England Patriots to win the big game. Tom Brady had led the Patriots to win the coveted Super Bowl Championship game five times.
The Eagles had never won a Super Bowl, so for many, it just made sense that they would not win against a team that had won five times. A quarterback with no wins going against a guy with five Super Bowl rings, sounds like a no-brainer, right?
However, when the Eagles came onto the field they played to win. They had studied their opponents and were prepared to have a victory no matter the odds.
They blocked out the voices of the naysayers, they had a championship to fight for and they went to work. From what I understand they collectively had taken God as their partner. I read an article which stated that the Eagle’s coach Doug Pederson was a high school coach just 9 short years ago, and now his name is etched in Super Bowl History forever with some of the great coaches of all times. Ladies only God can do that. The great thing is that Coach Pederson realized and acknowledge that this was from God. After the game, he gave God the praise for giving him the opportunity. As some of his players were given the microphone they also gave God the glory for their victory. I definitely feel confident in saying that there were players praying on both sides. However, there was just something different about this team.
It’s always a great thing to see the so-called underdog pull out a victory. I could clearly see that these players and their coach were sincere about their gratitude and excitement over their big win.
As I think of this victory and how the odds were stacked against the Eagles, I am reminded of David going to meet Goliath. He didn’t flinch because he knew who was on his side.
Just as the Eagles were not intimidated by the number of Super Bowl wins the Patriots had, David was not intimidated by the size of Goliath or the number of previous victories that he had achieved.
It is amazing how much confidence you can carry into your battle when you know that God is on your side. When you really believe that the battle is the Lord’s and that He Himself will give you the victory your fears start to diminish.
When The odds are against you it requires huge faith to come out as a champion on the other side.
There may be something that you are going through today that looks bleak and the odds may be stacked against you. You may have naysayers haunting you with negative energy and negative words, but just remember who you are carrying into battle with you.
Today and every day choose to win no matter what it looks like to your human eye. Pray and have faith that God is with you. Refuse to be defeated, think only winning and you will. No matter how many past failures you have had, it’s just that, your past. God can do a new thing in your life if you are willing to believe that He can. He can give you a victory at a moments notice.
Believe just as the Eagles did and you will start to have victories in your own life. No giant is too big for you to slay with God ‘s help. Have a blessed and a fearless day living the life of a Champion. Pray and a play to win!
