“Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
1 Samuel 17:36-37 (NIV)

Every once in a while I will hear something that wedges itself in my heart and brain. So it was a few weeks ago when my friend Mike made an observation I’d never heard or considered. He observed that David, whose victory over Goliath is still considered the quintessential example of an underdog’s improbably\e victory, never talked about it. Not once in his song lyrics in the Psalms does David refer to the moment that made him famous. In the long history we have of David’s life, not once does he reference it — ever.

I’ve had to chew on that one. And, chew I have.

It could be said that it was simply David’s humility, and I think that there’s no doubt in my mind that humility is a piece of it. But as I meditated on this fact my mind wandered back to Malcolm Gladwell’s book David and Goliath in which he unpacks the reality that David’s victory over Goliath should not have been a surprise (in fact his TED Talk on the subject is fascinating). History teaches us that slings like the one David used were very accurate and very deadly weapons. Expert slingers can even hit a bird in flight. You can find plenty of YouTube videos demonstrating a sling’s devastating power.

As I read the story again in today’s chapter, I couldn’t help but think about David’s offer to fight Goliath a bit differently. I considered that David’s confidence may not be faith-filled, giant-killing courage. David knew that God would give him victory, not because of a miracle, but because for years God had prepared him. For years David had trained and become an expert at using his sling. He’d had to fight animals larger and stronger than he was — and he knew what a well thrown stone could do. I think David knew that killing Goliath was a shoulder-shrugging no-brainer.

Goliath was huge. Which meant, he was a big easy-to-hit TARGET.
Goliath was infantry, which meant the giant would start by just standing there.
If he did move, Goliath’s size would make him relatively slow and lumbering.

Gladwell also points out that it’s quite possible that Goliath’s enormous size may have also come with physical limitations that medical science has documented come with unusually tall people. Goliath’s shield bearer remained with him, and Goliath had to keep getting closer to David before he saw that David was just a boy — perhaps meaning that Goliath had poor eye-sight.

All this means that David’s victory wasn’t improbable at all. And, I begin to think David knew it. Perhaps David never bragged about it because in his heart of hearts he knew there was nothing to brag about. In his mind, the whole affair may have seemed silly. It was the easiest of his life’s many battles and military victories.

Which brings me back to the theme of Gladwell’s book, and the spiritual reminder for me this morning.

Sometimes giants aren’t what they seem. And I give them too much credit.

As I walk this life journey, I find that it’s easy for me to get pessimistically overwhelmed by giants in my life.

Financial struggles.
Unrealized dreams.
Thought struggles.
Health issues.

And when I’m facing my own giants, I find myself doing what Saul and the army of Israel did.

Stall. Stand there. Do nothing.

The sum of my life experiences thus far has taught me that this is never a great recipe for actually overcoming or accomplishing anything. What am I waiting for? A miracle? For God to simply remove the giant so I don’t have to deal with it? For someone to show up and rescue me? For circumstances to just somehow change on their own?

David’s solution wasn’t miraculous. It was rather ordinary. He picked up the sling he used every day as a shepherd. He applied every day knowledge and experience to the problem. Most importantly, he simply acted.

And that, in the quiet this morning, is the simple reminder I need right now. I’m prone to paralysis when it comes to perceived giants in my life. I’m really good at looking for miraculous, improbable victories. But, giants aren’t as scary or powerful as I allow them to be — and applying the slings of simple everyday action proves it to me time-and-time again.

Financial struggles? A financial plan and a few changes in spending habits.
Unrealized dreams? Write them down. Create a map. Take a step toward them.
Thought struggles? Get them out. Process. Forge new thought patterns.
Health issues? Move. Make different food choices.

Slaying giants is often as simple as small simple acts consistently applied.

Please share this post with someone!
If you got something good from it, please “Like” it.
Comments are welcome.

RETURN TO THE MAIN WAYFARER BLOG PAGE

Subscribe and Get Every Chapter-a-Day Post Delivered Right to Your Email!

Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify
Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts.