Sling & Stone

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Goliath stood nine feet tall, covered in 125 pounds of bronze armor, carrying a spear with a 15-pound iron point. His daily taunts echoed across the Valley of Elah for forty days while Israel's army trembled in their tents. Then a teenager with a slingshot showed up and changed everything.

Let’s take a moment to read 1 Samuel 17:32-50:

David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

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.”

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, 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. 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. 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.”

Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 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. 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.

Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield-bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”

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. 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. 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.”

As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 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 facedown on the ground.

So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

REFLECT

David's response to Goliath reveals the heart of true courage. While others saw an unbeatable giant, David saw an uncircumcised Philistine defying the armies of the living God. His courage wasn't rooted in his own strength but in his unshakeable confidence in God's power and faithfulness. Notice David's resume when facing Goliath: he'd killed a lion and a bear while protecting his sheep. These weren't accidents—they were training sessions orchestrated by God. The wilderness prepared David for the battlefield. His private victories gave him confidence for public challenges.

King Saul offered David his armor, but the young shepherd declined. He chose his familiar weapons—a sling and five smooth stones. Sometimes God's power is displayed through simple, ordinary tools in the hands of someone with extraordinary faith. David's victory teaches us that the size of our faith matters more than the size of our problems. The giant fell with one stone, but David's faith had been building for years through countless unseen moments of depending on God. His triumph wasn't a lucky shot—it was the overflow of a heart that had learned to trust God in private before trusting Him in public.

This story encourages everyone who has ever felt small, outmatched, or overwhelmed. Your giants may be different—addiction, fear, financial pressure, broken relationships—but the same God who gave David victory stands ready to fight for you. The key is approaching your giants with God's perspective, not your own limitations.

RESPOND

Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.

• What "giants" in your life seem too big to overcome?

• How has God prepared you through smaller challenges for bigger battles?

REST

Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:

Heavenly Father, when I face giants that seem impossible to defeat, remind me that the battle belongs to You. Give me David's courage to step forward in faith, trusting that You are bigger than any challenge I face. Help me see my problems through Your eyes, not my fears. Amen.