Monday, May 9
The experience that counts
Scripture: 1 Samuel 17-18, Psalm 55, Mark 9
1 Samuel 17:33–37 But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.”
34 David answered Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”
Observation
It was winner-take-all!
The giant Philistine, Goliath, all 9 feet 9 inches of him, challenged Israel to send out their champion to fight him, mano-a-mano, winner-take-all. If Goliath won, the Israelites would surrender and become slaves to the Philistines. Vice versa if Israel’s champion won. But Israel had no champion that could best the giant in hand-to-hand, close quarters combat.
David wasn’t even a soldier. He was still a youth, a boy tending his father’s sheep, who had been sent on a delivery errand, running bread to his brothers at the front. But when he heard Goliath’s taunt, he felt the insult to God and offered to defend God’s honor.
King Saul objected that David was just a youth, a boy, and Goliath was an experienced warrior since he’d been a youth. There was a huge experience gap! It didn’t make sense to risk everything, the whole nation’s future, by sending this inexperienced boy into battle.
David’s answer says it all. He wasn’t battle-tested in war, but he’d been in some scraps! He had defended his sheep against lions and bears and bested them. And most importantly, he had experienced the Lord’s help. “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” David was trusting the Lord, and later told Goliath, “The battle is the Lord’s.” David had experienced God’s deliverance.
That is the experience that counts.
Application
I am facing and will face battles. Some I have experience in and others, not so much. But I do have experience trusting the Lord, and that’s the experience that counts.
Just like David recounted some times the Lord helped him, it’s good for me to recount the ways the Lord has helped me. I have so many stories of God’s provision, leadership, deliverance and help! Retelling those stories preps me for the battle at hand, reminding me that the battle is the Lord’s and He will help me again.
Of course, the biggest and most important of those stories is that the Lord saved me by sending Jesus for me. My entire life is one big story of God’s deliverance through Jesus! I owe Him everything!
And if you don’t have those stories, now is the time to begin. Bring your situation to the Lord and ask Him for help and see what He does. There’s only one way to gain the experience that counts, and that is to face the battle trusting the Lord.
Prayer: Today Lord, I’m going to bring my battles to You in prayer, ask for Your help, listen for Your leading, and watch for Your deliverance. Give me more stories of Your deliverance!