Just
Right 1 Samuel 17:32-49
God of Grace and God of Mercy, in these
moments together, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts
together in this place be pleasing in your sight, O Lord our God our Rock and
our Redeemer. Amen.
Fear?
Fear!
Fear.
What is
your greatest fear? Webster’s Dictionaries definition of fear is an unpleasant often
strong emotion caused by anticipation or
awareness of danger or an anxious concern. The reality
show Fear Factor is
intriguing to me. As I watch this show, I see people overcome challenges and do
things I would never dream of doing. I see people overcome what scares them the
most and as they
complete the challenges, I love to see the smiles and laughter
of accomplishment that they share.
These people challenge us to do the hard
thing and to face the giants that get in our face and try to
keep us from
growing and seeing the beauty of who we are. Fear is
a four letter word that at times
causes us to be paralyzed in a place of
indecision and anxiety. I can remember as a young child into
early middle
school being absolutely terrified to venture into my dark basement without
someone
with me, which was usually my younger brother Dakota, for the fear of
the unknown was scarier than
the reality of what was really down there which
was nothing more than a washer, dryer, and other
odds and ends. This pattern of
fear continued into my high school years with a fear that I was not
good
enough, smart enough, or that my loud laugh or fast speech would cause people to
not like me.
The idea of fear drizzled into my college life as well and at
times it caused me to question my choice
of college and if my calling to become
a minister was truly a call from God or if my ambitions were
overpowering the
voice of God. Luckily though I came to a place where confidence outweighed the
fear and I was able to make decisions with faith and not with fear. I moved to
a place where God
transformed my mind from believing that I was too much or not
enough and showed me that I was, in
fact, just
right. God showed me that I was created for a purpose and that I needed to
have my heart
refocused and instead of looking through my dirty and broken lens
of who I thought that I was, that I
needed to look through God’s lens who was
graciously holding it out for me to take a glance. That
glance then turned into
me wanting more of the beauty that God was offering which turned into my
disfigured lens and God’s perfect lens colliding for a new vision, a new vision
that brought so much
freedom. Our loving God allowed my fear to be turned into
faith and wants the same for each one of
you today as well.
Journey
with me to the ancient world, to the familiar story of David and Goliath as we
look at
it not through the lens that we have always had, but rather through a
new lens, the lens of God, who is
holding out our lens of redemption patiently
waiting on us to take a glance. If you have your Bibles
turn with me to 1 Samuel
17: 32-37 where the first part of our story for today comes from.
32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of
this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 33 Saul
replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you
are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping
his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the
flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and
rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its
hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your
servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine
will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.
37 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
the Lord be with you.” This is the word of the Lord, thanks be to God.
How
many times do we go throughout our day to day lives and wish that we were
something or someone different than who we actually are? How often do we lose
confidence thinking that we do not meet up to the titles and expectations
others place on us, or worse those that we place on ourselves? Parker Palmer
says, “The greatest fear is the fear of irrelevancy.” I think that’s true. We
all strive to be important and to be noticed. We want people to love us and so
we sometimes compromise who we really are for who others want us to be for the
fear of rejection.
It was mid July after I had
finished my junior year in high school. The rain was pouring down, my clothes
were drenched, and in comes this boy who looked about 6 years of age into the
gym of Manchester Baptist Church where I was serving on a mission trip with the
Lynchburg Baptist Association. He immediately ran to the closet pulled out a
basketball and began shooting hoops by himself. The smile never left his face.
The gleam never left his eyes. As we told stories of Jesus, he sat still and
intently listened to every word that was spoken. The day of Bible School ended
and we loaded up the children to take them to their homes. All of the children
had been dropped off and this young boy was the last one. The pastor of the
church joked around with this child like he were his own and once more the
smile and the joy never left this young mans’ face. We take a curvy road that
seems to never end on a narrow road barely large enough for a car to pass
through muchless a church van. We then turn up a steep driveway to this boys
home. There was trash everywhere, and the home was tiny. I assumed that it must
just be a mother and father or either or that lived there and then this child
named Jeremy. Pastor Ken and I left their home and headed back towards the
church when he began to tell me this childs story. In this small trailer lived
a mother, father, a younger sibling, two grandparents, and Jeremy. I was then
told how Jeremy’s home did not have steps on the front until a week prior to
our arrival and all they used were cinderblocks to climb the 5 foot space to the
front door. I was told that because of his living environments that social
services were in the process of trying to get him removed from his home which
to him was no different than what he had always known. To him, this was home.
To Jeremy, what looked to me as poverty was actually richness. He had a sense
of joy that could not be taken from him. As I saw this home and the living
environments of this child, my heart broke. I realized then for the first time
that some of us live life in what seems like a never ending cycle of poverty
and disappointments . I understood through Jeremy though that we can overcome.
I understood through his joy that no matter what circumstances we go through
that God is there ready to hold us up and carry us through the difficult times.
I learned through Jeremy that God is fighting on our behalves so that we don’t
have to fight so hard on our own.
Like our character David, Jeremy
was able to see that even in the face of adversity that God is God and fights
with us and for us! God doesn’t leave us alone. In the middle of the storms of
life as the lightning strikes, the thunder rumbles, and the rain pours, Let us
dance. Let us sing. Let us praise God.
This story of Jeremy is just one
example of how God uses us where we are and allows our joy to not be
compromised or taken away because of circumstances and situations that are
beyond our control. We see this theme as we continue our story of David. We see
the least likely get chosen as King. We see the youngest of Jesse’s sons get
chosen to be the King of Israel even though he was a young man about my age
with no leadership or military experience. As we read the Old Testament and
even the New Testament we see God continuously use the people who are broken,
those who are sick, those who are the outcasts in the community. We see God
choosing the least likely candidates to do the jobs that need to get done, and
we see them succeed. We see God taking ordinary people and using them in
extraordinary ways. We see God use what to many would look like flaws as means
to change the world and to change the hearts of people. Let’s take another look at this story. Follow
with me in your Bible where we left off as we continue on this journey
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat
of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the
tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to
them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took
his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in
the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the
Philistine. 41 Meanwhile, the Philistine,
with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more
than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me
with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the
birds and the wild animals! ” 45 David said
to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I
come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty,
the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day
the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut
off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army
to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is
a God in Israel. And this is the Word of the Lord, thanks be to God.
How
often do we give God the credit when we accomplish a goal? I know at times that
I don’t take the time to give God the praise for what has been done for me. In
a society that is driven by the need for success or to be looked up to as a
role model, it gets hard at times to remember our purpose and that we are
called by God to be servants and to help those in need rather than climb the
economic or physical appearance wall of success that leaves us defeated more
times than not because we can never seem to measure up as we compare ourselves
to those around us. When we make the transition to understanding what success
really is in life I think that we will find that it is in the people that we
love, the lives that we touch, and the tears that we shed along lifes journey.
I think that when we make the transition to understand that God is fighting for
us and that God is on our side, it is then that we can take off our masks that
hide our true passions. It is then that the light of Christ will be shone
through us so brightly that it cannot be dimmed by those who are out to tear us
down and to make us feel unworthy of God’s love or for that matter any love and
acceptance whatsoever.
David
knew where he stood. His confidence that came from The Lord allowed Him to be
the leader that the Israelites needed. David knew that the task in front of Him
was one of great importance. He knew that in order for it to be made known that
David’s God, which is the same God that we serve today, is the ultimate ruler
and the ultimate King. David knew that God’s hand was directing his stones and
because of David’s love and faithfulness to God, the Isrealites were able to
win the war and Our God was able to be crowned victorious beside the
polytheistic gods of the Philistines. Follow with me as we finish this story in
1 Samuel 17:47- 49.
47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword
or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the
Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our
hands.” 48
As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward
the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching
into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on
the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the
ground. Thanks be to God for this unfailing Word.
How awesome is it
that OUR God, the same God that was with David is still willing to help us
fight our battles today. Many of us struggle with battles that no one knows of
but ourselves and maybe a few of our closest friends or family members. Maybe
the giant that we are facing today is the declining health of ourselves or a
family member. Maybe it’s bills that keep piling up where we can’t find a way
to get ahead. Maybe that giant is someone who puts us down and hurts us on a
regular basis. Maybe the giant is ourselves. Or maybe the giant is our mask of
perfection that we put on around people because we fear that they will not
accept us for who we are or what our goals in life are.
December
of 2006, Katie Davis, an 18 year old from Brentwood, TN, traveled to Uganda for
the first time on a short term mission trip. Immediately she was captivated and
amazed there with the people and their culture. Katie then went back to Uganda
in the summer of 2007 to teach Kindergarten at an orphanage. As she walked the
children-home, she was shocked to see the great number of children who were
sitting alone by the roadside or working in the fields. It was then that she
learned that there were not very many government-run public schools in Uganda,
and there was not a single one in the area that she was working. Most of the
schools in Uganda are private schools that require fees to be paid in order for
attendance, which makes it impossible for impoverished children to afford to
get an education. God put it on Katie’s heart to begin a child sponsorship
program. Katie’s original plan was to have 40 children in the program but by
January of 2008 there were 150 children signed up. In 2008, Katie adopted 3
Ugandan girls. In the last few years, Katie has started a feeding program to
the community where over 1600 children are nourished on a weekly basis. By her
offering this feeding program, it allows the children the ability to go to
school so that they don’t have to spend their time begging on the streets. As
Katie began developing relationships with these people, she saw the need to
empower the women so she initiated a program where they make jewelry to sell
and they are also taught a money management class. Now the mom of 13 Ugandan
daughters, Katie offers, “People tell me I am brave. People tell me I am
strong. People tell me good job. Well here is the truth of it. I am really not
that brave, I am not really that strong, and I am not doing anything
spectacular. I am just doing what God called me to do as a follower of Him.
Feed His sheep, do unto the least of His people.” Katie left the United States
as an 18 year old girl to move to a foreign land. Now 24 years old, she has 13
daughters that she cares for on a daily basis. Katie left the wall of the
pressure to attend college by her parents, her friends thinking that she was
crazy, and the comfort of her home to go where God called her to. I think this
shows us something today. What are we willing to sacrifice? Where is God
calling us to serve and to be a presence of joy? Katie recognized the fact that
God’s call cannot be muffled by our fears. God’s call is strong and does not
fail to continue on when we try to ignore it. God may not be calling you to
pick up your life and move to a foreign country, but what can we do here in
Madison Heights to the hurting, and lonely people that we see on a daily basis?
What do we have to offer?
Like David, Katie
has a confidence and a shield of protection from God. Both stood up to the
plate, and like Babe Ruth said, “didn’t let the fear of striking out keep them
from playing the game.” What is God calling us to today? Where is God leading
us on our journey?
Recognizing that we are created
uniquely in the image of God is important. There is not another one of us. God
gives us each our own passions for a specific purpose. God gives us a song to
play and it’s our decision what kind of dance we want to create with it.
As
we hear the story of David and Goliath, it is important to remember that God is
not guaranteeing that we will win every battle. Our marriages may fail and jobs
may disappear. The obstacles and hardships of life may seem overwhelming, but
it is important to remember that we don’t have to go through life alone. We
have to remember that our loving and gracious God does not leave us when life
gets hard but rather holds us in loving arms like a mother holding her newborn
child. God hears our cries when we feel alone and is right there with us along
the journey of life.
This
week I encourage us to not play the compare and contrast game with the people
we surround ourselves with. Let us remember that we were created for a purpose
and by a God of creativity who made each one of us with our own gifts and
abilities. The next time we think that we are not enough or that we are too
much, let us throw off that fear of inadequacy and embrace that God created us
the way that we are supposed to be. God created us to be Just Right.
Let
us pray.
Daddy God, thank you for loving us just the way we are, but so much
that You won’t allow us to remain that way. Give us confidence when we have none
of our own. Give us peace when we are scrambling with anxiety. Let us live a
life filled with faith rather than fear. Amen.
