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While David never mentioned his battle with Goliath after the event, the lessons he learned about God’s character stayed with him and is evidenced by his life and his writings. It’s clear that his remembrance of God’s protection and power during that battle was a recurring theme in his prayers and his praise to God. 

Decades after his showdown with the Philistine giant, King David is firmly established in his luxurious palace in Jerusalem. But despite God’s favor and protection, enemies are hounding David at every turn. 

New Goliaths have emerged in his life. His own son will stage a coup against his throne, foreign enemies threaten Israel at every turn. Even as a grizzled war veteran, David still needs protection; he still feels like the underdog. 

As David sits to write another prayer poem to God, I imagine him glancing to a corner of his room, where an old leather sling hangs on a nail in the wall. Below it, maybe on a shelf, are four smooth stones. And in that moment, David would write, “Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle” (Psalm 144:1). 

Do you think David was ever tempted to believe that it was his rock from the brook that delivered him against Goliath? That it was his hands and his fingers who possessed the skill to take down Goliath with a simple sling? 

We are often tempted to take the credit for our accomplishments. But there’s a lesson we can learn from David’s remembrance. 

GOD IS OUR FOUNDATION; OUR TALENTS AND ABILITIES ARE GIFTS FROM HIM. 

The rock David clings to was not the little pebble that felled a giant, but the all-sustaining Rock who guided that pebble. Even David’s prowess with his sling—the abilities of his hand and fingers—he credits to the God who enabled his talent. 

I wonder if David reminisced on the moment when he ran toward Goliath as he wrote the words, “[God] is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge” (Psalm 144:2). 

David didn’t run toward his first battle with armor or a shield. He had nothing to defend himself from Goliath’s javelin and sword, except for his trust in God. 

When was the last time you ran toward a challenge with nothing but trust in the Lord? It’s easy to say we trust in the Lord when, in reality, we are trusting in our emergency funds, our 401Ks and our homes. 

FOLLOWING GOD’S WILL, THROUGH FAITH, IS ALL THE PROTECTION WE WILL EVER NEED. 

I picture David’s eye catching the light reflecting off Goliath’s giant breastplate as he penned, “O LORD, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow” (Psalm 144:3-4). 

THE GREATNESS OF MAN IS MEASURED NOT BY THEIR PROXIMITY TO POWER, BUT BY THEIR PROXIMITY TO PROVIDENCE. 

How quickly does our world elevate Goliaths? Physical Goliaths, like athletes and bodybuilders? Political Goliaths, like presidents and prime ministers? Intellectual Goliaths, like philosophers and historians? 

As Christians, let’s redefine what greatness looks like, both in our own lives and also in our culture. We must resist the temptation to spend more time, energy and even money focused on famous musicians than we do on faithful missionaries. It’s so easy to become more obsessed with the words of a politician than we are with the words of a pastor. 

Goliath had everything he needed to succeed in life—except God. 

David had nothing extraordinary about his life—except God. 

David elevated God to the center of the story of his life. Where is God in your story today?