Past Victories Growing the Faith of the Future
[32] And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” [33] And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” [34] But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, [35] I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. [36] Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” [37] And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you!”
1 Samuel 17:32-37 ESV
It was a storehouse of past victories that strengthened David’s faith to go out and fight against Goliath. The beasts that David had stood against in the past to protect his father’s sheep were no more dangerous in the eyes of God than this Philistine beast. They were looking for food according to their nature, but Goliath was blaspheming and cursing God’s people. David knew that God wouldn’t tolerate that.
Recounting what God has done is on the same level as praying or prophesying. Proclaiming His great works in your family to your kids is like a Bible study. That’s why the Jewish people retold the stories of Moses and Joshua, to build up their children’s faith. Retelling our own stories of how God helped us when we were sad or paid a bill out of nowhere or introduced us to a really cool person, all build up us and our hearers.
You don’t have to wait until New Year’s to look back over the year to see where God has been faithful. And if you are in the middle of pain and horror, the more little bits of God’s faithfulness you notice, the less impact that pain will have.
David was advised to protect himself with weapons and armor – the tools of the world, but he didn’t do it.
And the token that he brought home at his father’s request was a Kingdom. (1 Samuel 17:18)