Can a young teenager inspire you to be courageous?

Are you immobilised by fear? Take courage from this young teenager’s story which teaches us to change our perception of our situation and trust that God’s got this. In 1 Samuel 17 David faces a giant in battle. We all know the story, but there are so many gems that relate to our lives today that make it worth a 2023 rewrite and reflection.

The story	Reflection
The story starts off with a battle scene showing Israel’s army under Saul’s rule positioned on one mount, facing the Philistines on the next mount, with a valley in between the two armies.	This is similar to being in a situation where we are battling something, for me it was at work, being unhappy in a certain role.
For 40 days, a giant-sized Philistine soldier (Goliath) with impressive amour has been coming out daily, shouting taunts at the Israelites, insulting their God, and challenging them to send one man to fight him. The deal is that whoever loses, that army becomes the slave of the other. The taunting immobilises the Israelite army with fear.	I too was battling this challenge for many days and due to the situation that unfolded, I had become immobilised by fear and felt unable to move forward.
David, a young shepherd boy was running errands for his dad, and bringing supplies to his three brothers in the Israelite army. As he gets there, he is talking to the men to find out how things are going and hears Goliath calling out his taunts. David expresses disgust at this Philistine for defying his God.	Of interest is that David comments on Goliath's lack of respect for God. He is angered and has no fear at all. His focus is on God and not on protecting his life like the soldiers. This makes me question where my focus is when I face my battles.
David questions the soldiers and learns that King Saul has promised his daughter as a wife and family riches to the one who steps up to fight and beats the giant.	David does not remain quiet and in the background, he keeps asking questions and learning more.
David’s questioning and bold attitude gain attention among the soldiers, his brother is angered as he thinks David just wants to watch the action. (Before this story occurs, we know that David had recently been anointed by the prophet Samuel and the spirit of God was in him. He probably felt invincible.) Soldiers tell King Saul of David’s confident claims against Goliath.	We learn here that David’s brother has a low opinion of him and this indicates that David also had human faults like we all do.
The King calls for David. When he sees how young he is, he says he can’t fight as he is not a soldier and is too inexperienced.	How often does the world give us messages that we are not enough, that we are not able to do something? These messages break our confidence and we become timid to step up. I tried to escape my role and went for a job interview. I was confident in my chances and when I didn’t get the job, I was devastated that they didn’t have faith in my ability to do the job, this further made me question myself.
David responds, “let no man’s heart fail because of Goliath, I will fight him”. David shares his experience where, with God’s help, he protected his sheep against a lion and bear. He confidently continues to say that God will help him in this situation too.	David speaks words that address the fear of the soldiers, telling them to challenge their fear and that God will help him. He speaks positive affirmation into the future event with absolute confidence in God support. This motivates me to change my attitude, to walk into my battle and challenge my fear, and then prepare to face my situation knowing that God will help me! David also confidently shares his past experience, another lesson for us to adopt.
Saul sends him off in God’s name.	How despondent the Israelite army and Saul must be after 40 days. He seems desperate and not relying on God. He puts his kingdom's fate in the hands of a young shepherd boy. Perhaps David's confidence started encouraging the soldiers around him and inspiring hope. That is our calling too, to inspire others around us to be courageous.
Saul gives David amour to wear for the battle, but he can’t move as it's too heavy and big. As he is not used to the armor, he goes to face Goliath without it.	Often we are told to do things in a certain way, act a certain way, say certain things. Here we see David having the courage to say no to the norm and go with what works for him. Again at work can I have the confidence to be authentic and bring my voice to the the discussion?
David grabs his shepherd's staff, chooses five smooth stones from the stream, and puts them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag. With his sling in his hand, he approaches the Philistine.	David reverts to the tools of his trade, items he is comfortable using. For me, this was remembering the things we have learnt and how much experience we have and remembering to rely on it.
On seeing David, Goliath curses him. He is disgusted that he is approached by a small scrawny shepherd. David taunts him back, and says that he comes in the name of the Lord and that the Lord will give Him victory.	It seems Goliath is offended by the low status of his challenger. Undeterred, David makes a great speech as he is again saying he will win and claiming God will help him and this act will glorify God. This must have been so inspirational for the troops. This inspires me to speak the name of Jesus in my challenging situations.
The giant moves towards David and David runs towards the giant. David takes a stone and uses his sling to hit the giant in the head. Goliath falls and David then kills him with his own sword.	David acts, he moves forward, I have to also make a move, I need to take action to have a victory.
The Israelite army then chase after the Philistines and overpower them.

What does this mean for us? My interpretation is that God has got each situation. We need to change our perception of the situation and trust that God’s got this.

Thank you, young David, for your confidence and faith in God, leaving us with a story that can encourage us in our daily battles!