Pastor T.C. Arnold
1st Sunday in Lent
1 Samuel 17:40-51
March 1st, 2009
Martin Luther was not yet 34 years old when the blows of his hammer on the church door of Wittenberg reverberated throughout the civilized world. Gustavus Adolphus who is known by some as the “savior of Protestantism” was considered a hero for lifting ailing Germany back to its feet, was only 21 years old when his military career began. And, as a slice of our own religious heritage, when the Saxon immigrants came to this country, some of their notable leaders were young in years and experience. Dr. C.F.W. Walther, for instance, was only 27 years old when he arrived in Perry County, Missouri along the banks of the Mississippi. A man by the name of Friedrich Wyneken began his work in Baltimore after arriving from his native Germany when he was just 28 years old. He would later become the president of the Synod. These and others might have objected with the prophet Jeremiah: “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” But they rose to the opportunities of the crises in which they found themselves, and the church owes an infinite debt to their youthful leadership.
Many times in our minds the “young one” is the underdog. His or her inexperience and lack of wisdom presents a significant challenge in many activities and vocations. Sometimes it’s a challenge because of the lack of experience and sometimes because of the lack of brawn and physical prowess. Both such reasons came into play for the young shepherd boy, David. The mighty King Saul told David, “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.” Besides all this, Goliath was a giant man. David was a “shrimpy” kid.
You have seen the pictures. So many artists and illustrators have depicted what this match-up must have looked like. There’s this young skinny boy with rocks and a slingshot and then there is this Philistine hero/warrior with a large spear, who is covered with armor, and who seems to be a hundred feet tall. Goliath is usually depicted with laughter on his face – he can’t believe this young boy is the one the Israelites sent out to fight the champion of a whole people.
Everyone likes the story of the underdog – the young kid making good – the weak triumphing over the strong – the good over the bad. But I hope you realize – David was not the underdog in this fight. It only seemed that way. The advantage that David had over the mighty Philistine and even over King Saul and his “lack of” understanding was this small piece of information – tiny bit of wisdom: God is the one in control and He doesn’t break His promises. That’s something the experienced needed to learn from the novice. David simply trusted the promise of God.
Here’s something more to ponder: I’m convinced that David trusted that God was going to make good on His promise to deliver Israel even if he would have lost that fight with Goliath. There was another situation regarding trust in God in the face of adversity back in the book of Genesis chapter 22. Abraham was tested by God. He was instructed to take his son, his “only” son up that mount in the region of Moriah and sacrifice him to the Lord in that place. What a horrible thing to imagine – to be asked by God to take the life of your own son because God asks you to do it. But Abraham didn’t hesitate. Why didn’t he hesitate? Was it because he did not love his son Isaac? No, the Bible is clear that he loved his son very much. The reason Abraham did not hesitate is because he knew God made good on His promises. Abraham knew that even if he had to sacrifice his only son on that mount, God would find a way to bring him back from the dead. Why? Because of a promise – a promise from God to Abraham that He would bring forth a mighty people from his line which would include his son Isaac. Abraham trusted that God would make good on His promise.
Do we trust that God will make good on His promises to us? Well, what are God’s promises to us? What does He promise to do? Jesus’ promises to us include Him saying, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in my will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” His promise includes His words, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” His promise includes us when He says, “come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” His promise includes us when He says, “I am with you always even to the very end of the age.” We know these promises and these promises include us. But have we trusted that God will provide for us no matter what? That’s hard to do.
The problem is we all have our own understanding regarding “how” God should provide for us. Some have more than we do. We might be inclined to think God loves others more than us because of how much “stuff” we have. How many times have we taken a personal inventory of our lives just to see if God is living up to His promises and our personal expectations? When we do this, we often times start focusing on the negative – those things we once had or never had – and then blame God for not having them. “I use to be calm and collected, but now, I’m not,” we might think. “I use to have ‘this’ in my life and now I don’t. I use to have ‘that’ in my life and now it’s gone.” We start to feel, and to an extent understandably so, that God is letting us down and not keeping His promises.
This causes all sorts of problems for us in this world. We start to resent God and even His precious creation. Greed could be attached to this, so could envy and even lust. It’s easy for us to justify why we might fall into this sin or that sin and usually we point the finger at someone else – or even at God. We always have someone else to blame other than ourselves. It’s always someone else’s fault.
When our sins are put before us there is only one who is responsible. That’s us. Sure, others may contribute. But your sins are yours and they belong to no one else. And the forgiveness of those sins – well, that belongs to no one else than you too. By God’s grace – the only giver of forgiveness – comes your new life. Without Him we are left to wallow in our sins. With Him we have a new start, a new beginning and a new day. We also have each one of God’s promises. Those promises are never forsaken or forgotten. They belong to you. They may not always look the way you think they should. But His blessings are there, they are abundant, they will last forever. The reason, because God is in control of those gifts.
Abraham on that mount in the region of Moriah knew that. So did young David as he stood before the giant Philistine. That’s why David could be confident that even if he was somehow defeated, that Israel would prevail. David was right to say, “The battle is the Lord’s…” and that confidence led him to face the giant. It may not always work out the way we think it should, but the battle is the Lord’s. And just like David, we find ourselves right in the middle of it.
Does this sound familiar to you? The changes and chances that this life affords are not left to be dealt with apart from the Lord. But regardless, we find ourselves right in the middle of it. But we can be confident that the Lord provides for us the strength and the wisdom through His precious Word to help guide us and lead us on our way each and everyday. Just like David, we are right in the middle of it. We are in the middle of life and we are in the middle of His precious grace as well.
That’s where you can find yourself today – right in the middle of God’s gifts. He provides for you today what you need for this life and for the next. He did so by what we have come to look forward to in the next few weeks – a Lord who is getting closer and closer to that cross where He would make it happen for us – where He would fulfill His promises.
David is our “novice” hero. David defeated the Philistine. Actually God defeated him. David even said, “The battle belongs to the Lord.” He was right. And so belongs the battles of this life. The one that matters most to you has already been fought and won. It was won on the cross. The battle involves us because we live this life. The battle involves us because our Lord would give this precious gift to us directly by grace through faith. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.