Giant Slayer- David & Goliath-A Christian Children's T-shirt
1 Samuel 17- The Story of David & Goliath
David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 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. 37 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.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
51 David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.
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David did not tremble in fear when a mighty enemy terrorized those around him. David could have. He could have gone back to the sheep in his father’s fields. That was his earthly duty. But he knew his heavenly duty and his heavenly Father’s strength. David could have believed he was too young and willingly handed the battle over to his big brothers and the reigning King Saul. That was what those around him told him to do. But David heard his heavenly Father’s voice beckoning to battle. David could have worn man’s armor, a king’s armor, into battle and been outwardly protected from head to toe. But he had greater confidence in the inward protection of his faith and the outward spiritual protection of his heavenly Father.
David could have walked away, listened to the faithless statements of those around him, or put trust in the things of this world. David didn’t. He didn’t bow to any of that. He only bowed to the King of Kings and knowing who he served.
David was not perfect during his reign over God’s people, but he never stopped seeking God. As A.W. Tozer stated, “It is not holy perfection but holy intention that makes the difference” as we walk our life with Christ. Are we intentionally focusing on God? Can we live this earthly life and choose to continue to seek Him first and always? Holy intention. David didn’t become a Giant Slayer without intentional time spent in the wilderness, protecting sheep, serving his earthly father, getting to know his Heavenly Father more deeply. Intentional action leads to intentional reactions. David’s intentional day-to-day obedience led to radical obedience that we know of today. Let’s be Giant Slayers, too.