Life of David (2): Key to Overcoming Difficulties (1 Samuel 17)

by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung

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At a very young age, David had already been chosen by the Lord to be king. In Part 1 of this series, we talked about whether or not David was qualified to be chosen by the Lord or not; and our conclusion was he was qualified because:
1. David was someone whose inner being matched his outer appearance
2. David was a charming man.

We also learned that David had five qualities:
1. He played the harp well
2. He was a brave warrior
3. He spoke well
4. He was a fine-looking man
5. The Lord was with him.

Today, let us learn how David defeated the giant Goliath. This was David’s first victorious battle and a brilliant feat that stunned the whole world. No one could believe it for David used only one stone to kill Goliath that day. A young man in his teens defeated a 9-foot, 300 pound giant? Aside from the Lord’s help, what were the reasons for David’s victory?

I. Resolve Problems According to God’s Time

1 Samuel 15:6 records how David was anointed to be king in the sight of his whole family by Samuel. After David was anointed, what did he do? He continued to be a shepherd of his father’s flocks. 1Sam17:15 says “but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.” What does “went back and forth” mean? It means he was like an office boy or a messenger. If you were David, you had already been anointed as king, and everyone in your family knows it, when they send you as an office boy, a messenger, would you go? You would probably say: `How can I have the time? I am preparing to be king. I need to prepare my speech. I need to learn the many duties of a king. I don’t have time to tend sheep.’

David didn’t do so. He went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep. He continued to be a messenger, for at least two or three years long. Until one day when his father told him, “Take some food to your brothers. They are in the Valley of Elah fighting against the Philistines.”

This was an opportunity the Lord gave him. God’s time has arrived. The Lord never uses a lazy person. God always calls a man who is busy and diligently at work. When the Lord called the first batch of disciples, Peter and Andrew, they were casting their nets into the lake. James and John were preparing their nets. When Jesus called the tax collector Matthew, he was collecting taxes. Are you waiting for God’s call?

Let me ask you: What are you doing? If you are not doing anything, don’t think that the Lord will suddenly make a phone call and ask you to preach! Although David had already been anointed king, he continued to keep busy. When he arrived at the battlefield and heard the Philistine insulting the army of the Living God, he couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t bear hearing the God he loves being insulted. The Spirit of the Lord moved him and he went out to face Goliath. He used a piece of stone and finished off the fearsome enemy. According to God’s timing, David accomplished what the Lord wanted him to do and resolved the Israelites’ problem.

I have been serving the Lord for 22 years, next year will be my 20th year in CBCP, time really flies. In these 22 years, I have seen many people succeed in their ministries, and I have also seen many people fail. I discovered that the failure of many people isn’t related to their giftedness. Many people fail in the area of waiting upon the Lord. They couldn’t wait. Like a premature child coming out before its time from its mother’s womb, they set themselves in dangerous situations. Brothers and sisters, may the Lord guard our hearts, may we learn to wait for God’s perfect time in doing his work, then we can overcome any difficulty because the Lord is with us.

II. Make 200% Preparation

All success comes with much preparation. Although adequate preparation does not guarantee success, but no preparations equals certain failure. Would you believe me if I say that Susan Boyle joined `British Got Talent’ and sang “I Dreamt a Dream” without any preparation? David used one piece of stone to kill Goliath. This was the first piece of stone he ever threw, and he only hit him by coincidence, would you believe it? But if we say, that David had practiced with his sling for more ten years. When a lion or bear or wolf came, he took his sling and struck those animals with the stones from it, and so he became a sharp-shooter. Which one of these would you believe?

If you still believe that it was a great coincidence, then, please listen to the experts: In studying 50 successful people, like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, etc., two experts say:

A. There is no substitute for hard work

There’s no evidence of high-level performance without experience or practice. The most accomplished people need around ten years of hard work before becoming world-class, a pattern so well established researchers call it the ten-year rule. So greatness isn’t handed to anyone; it requires a lot of hard work.

B. Practice Makes Perfect

The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to what the researchers call “deliberate practice.” In a study of 20-year-old violinists by Ericsson and colleagues, the best group averaged 10,000 hours of deliberate practice over their lives; the next-best averaged 7,500 hours; and the next, 5,000. More deliberate practice equals better performance.

David did not only prepare 100%, he prepared 200%. What does this mean? The first 100% refers to David doing his utmost, and the other 100% is his reliance on the Lord’s strength.

1. David’s 100% Preparation

When Saul heard that David wanted to fight Goliath, he immediately said no. Verse 33, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth.” V.34-36 David told 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, 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. 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.”

After hearing this, Saul bade him go. Then, Saul dressed David in his own armor, but David couldn’t even walk around in it. David knew this wasn’t right because he wasn’t used to the armor. David refused to use Saul’s armor and weapons because he wasn’t used to them. He went to the stream and picked five smooth stones and faced Goliath. David knew that the enemy was fiercer than a lion or a bear, he personally went and looked for stones he would use and as a result, he defeated the enemy with only one stone. In his pouch were still four pieces of stones. This was truly 100% preparation.

2. David’s additional 100% preparation

A 100% preparation is already the best preparation one can do. But sons and daughters of God, we are more blessed than people of the world, not only can we make 100% preparation, we can even have 200% preparation, that is, add another 100% by trusting the Lord. When Goliath saw David, v.42-43 “He looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.

David then replied, in v.45-47, “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. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 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.” We see that David did not face Goliath on his own, he relied on the Lord’s strength to face the enemy. David said “the battle is the Lord’s”. This was not man’s battle, but the Lord’s. No matter how frightening the enemy is, if God is with us, who can be against us?

III. Press Forward in the Face of Difficulties

David told Goliath, “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.” This was very agitating for the enemy, but was it enough? V.48 “As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.” David run toward the enemy and this was the key to his victory. This tells us two things:

1. David faced the difficulty courageously

Goliath was 9 feet tall and weighed more than 300 pounds, a really formidable mountain. With such a formidable mountain advancing towards you, one can only do two things: 1. Retreat, or 2. Advance.

To retreat means to move backwards, to flee the difficulty, just like the Israelites, just like Saul. Goliath taunted them for 40 days, every day he would insult them twice. He insulted them for a total of 80 times and not one Israelite dared to face him. They only knew to retreat, they did not dare to face the enemy. Do you think our problems would just disappear if we do not face them? Not only will the problems not disappear, they will become worse day by day. Day by day Goliath’s insult grew worse.

To advance means to face the problem courageously. This is the right way to resolve our problems. David chose this method. He bravely faced the enemy and ran towards him. In recent years, because of financial crisis, we see two kinds of people: one would retreat and refuse to face the problem. They flee and as a result, leave behind a bad name. David pressed forward and faced the enemy in battle. In the end, David won.

2. David was a man of action

David ran towards the enemy. David not only faced the difficulty courageously, he was also a man of action, a man who never gave up. David’s life was not all smooth-sailing. Sometimes, he was defeated by difficulties, but David never gave up.

A certain university was holding its graduation rites, and had invited an old professor to deliver a speech. When the old professor stood up to speak, for some reason he stumbled and fell on the stage. The students were merciless and laughed very hard. The old professor was unperturbed, when he stood back up, he took the microphone and said, “Life is like that. When you fall, you must stand back up. Today, you are graduating, when you step out into the world, you will meet difficulties, and you will even fall; but you must remember this day and what you saw, after you fall you must stand back up.” In the end, the students greeted the old professor’s speech with resounding applause. Bring out your courage, stand back up! Bring out your action, work!