This Too Shall Be Like One of Them

Picture a teenage boy alone in a field near Bethlehem. A lion has just grabbed a lamb from his father's flock. No one is watching, and the sheep will never thank him. He goes after it anyway.

That boy was David, about 15. At our Youth Takeover Service, the youth showed us that his win over Goliath started right there.

The fight nobody saw

David was the youngest, left with the quiet job while his brothers went to war. Already anointed king, he was still minding sheep. Fighting a lion and then a bear was terrifying. Afterwards he went back to the flock without boasting.

He did not know he was being trained. You rarely know you are in a sharpening season until it is over. There is no victory without affliction, and some things can never be learned in comfort. God trained David in private for what would happen in public.

If you feel hidden while everyone else steps into their blessing, God is not wasting this season. His thoughts toward you are thoughts of peace, to give you an expected end (Jeremiah 29:11).

Lest we forget

Every November, Canadians stand at cenotaphs and say "lest we forget" so the lessons of war are not lost. Forget what God has brought you through, and the next giant will make you panic. When Goliath came, all Israel was afraid, even King Saul. David had not forgotten:

The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.

He had already said this Philistine "shall be as one of them" (1 Samuel 17:36), the line behind the message's title. He trusted his covenant God, not himself, and told the giant, "I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts" (1 Samuel 17:45). His confidence had a track record.

What God has done in your past is the foundation for your faith today.

Three lessons to carry this week

1. See past the size. The enemy uses size to make you afraid. The spies felt "as grasshoppers" beside the giants (Numbers 13:33), and the Red Sea looked impossible until God parted it. Remind your situation which God you serve.
2. Use your testimonies. Remember on purpose and write them down, even small ones like a near miss on the road. No testimony yet? Borrow one from Scripture. Speak boldly, then stand, because faith has no backup option. Believe again, pray again, apply for that job again.
3. Make it a lifestyle. A testimony is more than a Sunday microphone or an Instagram post. David carried his into battle. Carry yours into Monday. Your history with God is your weapon.

Write one down today. Keep it on record, or share it in church.

Write down your testimony

Your Goliath may be bigger than your last lion. It is not bigger than your God.