Cast in Stone

                                                         Written by Terry and Becky Smith

Most people are familiar with the Biblical story of David and Goliath found in 1 Samuel 17. The story of how a young David brought down the Philistine Goliath, a giant of a man over nine feet tall, with a stone thrown from his sling and an undeniable faith in the Lord.

Recently the subject of David and Goliath came up in our prayer group. Someone pointed out that the instant the stone left David’s sling, that the Lord took control of its flight and directed it precisely at Goliath’s forehead to achieve the desired outcome. Another of our group suggested that among all the stones formed during the Creation, that God had pointed to this one particular stone and declared that “This is the one to bring him [Goliath] down.” Knowing that our Lord is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the creator of all things, it was easy to agree with that assumption. We imagined that smooth stone among the four others, placed precisely in that brook to be available within David’s reach for just this day and time.

Later that evening, while listening to Family Life Radio, the pastor’s sermon included the story of David and Goliath. He pointed out that the armor and weapons of David’s time, specifically Saul’s shield and sword, were just too cumbersome to be effective for the great mission, and that David chose to march into battle with only his belief in God and a crude weapon that appeared would be entirely ineffectual.

Again, that same evening, another prayer group member attended a service where the pastor pointed out that for every giant (“Goliath”) that we face in our lives that there is a special stone for the battle. Are you seeing a repetitive theme here?

The following night my husband lay awake in bed thinking of several “giants” in our world today… abortion, pornography, homosexuality, poverty, starvation, among many other evils. He realized that yes, there is a stone to utilize for every “giant” and that these stones are still available in the brook… the brook that is the source of Living Water provided by our Lord. Some giants require stones larger than others, but all are designed for the task, and all are within our reach. As the pastor on Family Life Radio said, when each of us, in faith, has done all that he or she can, the Lord will take it from there.

God speaks to us in many different ways. That over the course of a few days this message about fighting giants was delivered to members of our prayer group by multiple methods was no coincidence. The Lord was driving the message home, that we each need to do all we can to bring down the giants in our lives, our society, our world. We cannot sit idly by and think that God will take care of everything for us. He expects us to actively work with Him, and this requires a strong faith in Him, and a reliance on Him that goes far beyond the modern weaponry of our time. Only with God are all things possible.

Written by Terry and Becky Smith