And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 1 Samuel 17:42
Goliath dismissed David because he was a mere youth; Goliath made a big mistake.
New Castle, Pennsylvania’s Jerry Brown Jr. Dismissed an 89-year-old woman when he stole her friend’s purse. His was also a big mistake.
Now it’s true, this lady didn’t have David’s sling and three, smooth stones taken from a riverbed. On the other hand, she did have her cane.
Stones or cane, both can come in handy when bringing down a bad guy.
This lady rather than standing there looking all frail and helpless gave a whack to Brown’s getaway car. She gave it such a whack she scratched the paint and left a dent in the vehicle. Between the dent, the scratch and the description of the robbers, the New Castle police were soon able to arrest Brown and an accomplice, Tatiana Vargas.
Over the years I’ve noticed the forces of evil tend to dismiss and discount God’s people. We don’t look like much; we don’t sport halos like the saints do in the artists’ depictions and most of us don’t perform miracles.
Even so, God’s people, the young and old, the weak and the frail can accomplish great things when they put their trust in the Lord. According to Scripture, it was in the Lord — not those stones — that David placed his trust. Indeed, he said as much to Goliath when he shouted, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the Name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”
Now I don’t know which evil giant is coming against you.
I don’t know what force of evil is going to try and intimidate you, frighten, bully and terrorize you.
I do know that when you stand by the side of the Lord, you need not be afraid. Indeed, as St. Paul said, it is because of the crucified and risen Savior’s victory that the Lord’s saved people are “… more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37b).
Even when they’re up against Goliaths.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, God of grace, today I give thanks. All around me there are forces of evil. They would undermine my faith and paralyze me into inaction. May I, trusting in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, move forward in faith. May I give to all a witness that in Christ God’s people are conquerors. In the Savior’s Name. Amen.
Pastor Ken Klaus
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