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As a teenager, David trusted God enough to fight and kill a mighty warrior who defied Israel – Wow! Take a minute to read this story for yourself in 1 Samuel 17.  (It’s easy to find if you remember the “trick” Tyler taught you earlier.)   

Before we explore this David & Goliath story, here are a few cool facts you’ll like about David.  Each will become important the more you study this significant hero:

• David was from the tribe of Judah, which is important to remember because Jesus is eventually born from the tribe of Judah, too.  Matthew 1:1 even calls Jesus “the son of David …” (with many generations in between, that is!) 
• He was the youngest of 8 brothers!  Can you imagine???
• When he was a young shepherd, David wrote many of the Psalms.  One of his most famous is Psalm 23.  Take a minute to find Psalm 23 in the center of your Bible.  Can you tell David is out in the sheep fields as he’s writing this?  Some of his other Psalms were written as he grew older, when he was leading his “mighty men” in fierce battles.  In all, David wrote about half of all the Psalms in our Bible.
• The Bible says that David was “a man after God’s own heart.” (1 Samuel 13:14), which is why God eventually chose him to be King.  He is super important in Israel’s history.  (btw, Israel only had 3 kings back in the day … King Saul, then David, and then David’s son Solomon.)  

To go from being the youngest of 8 boys to the greatest King of all Israel – What a ride!  As you can imagine, the Bible records a ton of stories about David’s life.  What can we learn from today’s encounter with Goliath?  Well, let's ask YOU!

Do you think David got to the battlefield and “talked himself into” trusting God right before he picked up those stones?  Or did you notice he didn’t even hesitate?  David told King Saul confidently, “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 17:37)  David’s courage came from ALREADY trusting God, long before he arrived at the battle.  He knew without a doubt, that God was with him and would help him face the giant Goliath.

This was David’s first – but not his last – dangerous battle.  Throughout his life, David fought MANY daring battles.  At one point, even King Saul was chasing him and trying to kill him.  It was then that David wrote Psalm 56, including the key verse “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee.”  (Psalm 56:3)  Yet again in his life, David determined ahead of time that he would trust God.  

The lesson here?  Don’t wait until you’re in the middle of a predicament to decide if you’re going to trust God or not.  Make up your mind to trust Him ahead of time.  A good time would be … NOW!  With God, you will get through whatever lies before you. Every time you trust Him to help you make the right decisions, your faith in Him will grow and become stronger.  So will your courage.  And having confidence to stand firm and courageous with God by your side is an awesome way to live! 

We love you,
Pappy & GiGi

P.S.  David knew Psalm 56:3 by heart, right?  It’s your turn to memorize it now!