Don’t mess with a tough country boy that has a tougher God on his side!

One country boy in particular was the kind of guy the “Brings a stone to a sword fight” I Samuel 17:40 (Read the whole story HERE)

Before I get into that, as most of you know I’m not very traditional in my thoughts and writing. Why should now be any different? I like it when we can relate someone in scripture to someone we know who carries similar traits and attitudes. In this case I always think of my dad when I think of King David.

Dad was in most cases a good example of what a Godly man should be. Dad was a big strong farm boy and let me tell you he had a heart of gold, but had the physical power to stop most any man. Dad was the kind of guy that would give you the shirt off his back if you were in need, no questions asked. It took a lot to get him angry or upset for the most part. When you did get him angry, you didn’t want a piece of that. I eluded to it earlier he could put most men down without breaking a sweat. The thing is, he didn’t do it. At least not very often that I knew of.

Dad for a great part of his life let God guide his steps, he had many flaws as we all do. The difference is not made by what we do as much as it is by who we are. You see our actions do not always give a clear picture of our hearts. We often do things that make people that know us shake their heads and the people who don’t know us will often judge us by those actions without ever getting to know us.

I feel Christians have the biggest struggle in this area, Paul made it really clear in Romans 7:15-20. The message is clear. Trying to say it out loud no matter which translation is another story. The point here is that we all often do what we shouldn’t and don’t do what we should. In the Christian that often leads to guilt and shame and such. The way I see it is that pride is really at the heart of our reaction to our own short comings. When we do or don’t do we often find ourselves hiding; Hiding from God, hiding from friends, etc.

We were not created and saved to be hiders. We need not let our “foolish pride” dictate our course of action after making a bad choice, just as we should not let those things keep us down.

Should our actions be led by our faith? Absolutely! Do they always? NOPE!

Lets take a look at David, He put a good old country boy beat-down on a Lion and a bear. That is serious mental and physical toughness! How could he stare down those animals never mind fight and win? Simple really. He had faith as strong as a lion and a heart as big as a bear. He loved and trusted God to deliver him from any situation. For most of his life he never abused that either. He slipped up here and there but he always turned back to God. Just like dad did (Feel free to insert someone you know here that fits, it brings this truth closer when you can relate it to someone in your life)

David was a tough country boy with a heart for God and he was never afraid to show it. Take a good look at Goliath, this giant man and David this tiny little shepherd boy. Logically thinking this is going to be a brutal bloodbath. It was, but not how one would have thought. You see, David was so confident in God’s ability to deliver him he picked up 5 stones not just one. For someone who does not know the story he might think David grabbed extra’s in case he missed. For those that do know the story, Goliath had some brothers. Perhaps David realized that and he grabbed one stone for each of them. In the end, we will have to wait and ask David when we meet again!

Pound for pound it would appear David would be no match for one Giant, never mind a few if the family showed up. Not to worry; David had a special and not so secret weapon. David knew where his strength and fortitude came from and that was the difference. The giant relied on his own power, David relied on the God of Israel for his power and it proved to be the right choice in the end.

The point of this story is really this, David “brought a stone to a sword fight” and because of his faith in the one true God, he outgunned the entire Philistine army with one stone. You can’t make this stuff up!

Remember when you feel weak or intimidated, there is a legion of angels at your back and a God who loves you watching over you. It is not the weapon you carry into the battle it is the heart with which you wield it! We are in a serious battle, not of flesh and blood but a spiritual battle Ephesians 6:10-20

As a Christian the same power and authority David had is in us, God has placed it there to be used for His glory, I’m good with that. If it was for me to use on my own well…Romans 7:15-20

In Closing Don’t ever be afraid to “Bring a Stone to a Sword fight”

Sunday we rest our minds and prepare our hearts and feed our spirits, Monday to Saturday we go into battle! That is what we do “The other 6 Days”