From stumbling blocks to stepping stones

"Oh No"

The story of David and Goliath is one of the most popular stories told from the Old testament and even the whole Bible itself. It describes a boy, one who is forgotten by his father, mocked by his brothers and in a position that is low and looked down upon. But this is no ordinary boy. This guy has been anointed king over Israel, and has been commissioned to calm the spirit of Saul by playing the harp in his presence. Then we get to chapter 17 in the book of 1 Samuel. The Israelite army is in the Valley of Elah, and the Philistine army is at Socah in Ephes-Dammim. Goliath, the Philistine champion comes out into the valley between the two camps and challenges the Israelites to a one- on-one duel, with the winner of the duel being the victorious army. Because Goliath was over 9 feet tall, the army of Israel was terrified and ran and hid for 40 days while Goliath continued to taunt and defy God. Then along comes small little David. He has been sent by his Father to bring food to the general and check the war. While he is there, Goliath comes out and begins his daily taunting, and David is not happy with what he hears. So he goes to the king and tells him that he will fight the giant and he will do it in the name of the Lord God. So David goes out to the river, gathers 5 smooth stones, and runs to the battle line to confront Goliath. He then declares to Goliath that though "you come at me with a sword, a spear and a javelin, I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of the Israel, whom you have defied. This day, the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I will strike you down and cut off your head."(1 Samuel 17:45-46) This is where the story gets cool. David pulls a stone out of his pouch, takes his slingshot and swings the stone and it makes contact with Goliath's head and sinks into his skull. Goliath then falls face first onto the ground. David then takes Goliath's sword and cuts off his head. 

It is easy to see why this story is so well known. A boy who was looked down upon is now the greatest soldier of all time, all because he wasn't afraid of the giants that rose up in his ways. For many people, giants distract us from the path that God has put before us. A perfect example of this is the story of the Israelites in the desert after their freeing from Egyptian slavery. God had a land waiting and ready for them to take, but because of the giants that resided in the land, the people got scared. Because they did not trust God to fight their battles for them, they had to spend 40 years in a desert eating nothing but manna and quail. These giants became a stumbling block for the people and they allowed them to become so. A stumbling block is anything that gets in your way that stops you from moving forward in the direction God has set aside for you. We need to turn these stumbling blocks into stepping stones as David did with Goliath. Before he defeated the giant, he was already promised the kingdom of Israel, but that didn't stop him. He took one step further and did what he could to protect his people. He knew that God could handle the giant, he was just waiting for someone to step up and take action. God was not hoping that David would hit the mark, David knew that God would guide the stone to where it needed to go. This is how we should act when walking through our journey. God will take care of the details, all we need to do is stay focused on knowing God will come through. Once we realize this, we must declare to the giant that he will be defeated, not by our hand, but by the Lord God Almighty. It is time to take the things that the giant has used to distract us and throw them back right back in their face. Be like David, declare that though Goliath has brought all these things with him to scare you, God is still all powerful and fully capable of taking out any giant that comes our way. 

It is time to take out your stones and start swinging. 

Adam Semple- a young man on a mission from God