(David, part four)
What's that moving over there in the shadows? Is it, could it be, it is . . . a bear! And
he has one of the lambs! Later David told the story to King Saul:"Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and
slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion
and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine [Goliath] shall be as one of them, seeing
he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The LORD that delivered
me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of
the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee"
(1 Samuel 17:34-37).
Now Goliath was a
big man, a giant, nearly ten feet tall, no match at all for a young teenager like David.
Nonetheless, God has his man ready for the task. God had prepared David in private for
this public showing. God had given David private victories, little victories, to ready him
for this great public victory. That is the way with God and that is the manner of the
Christian life. God will not put upon us more than we can handle. "God never asks
anyone at any time, under any circumstances to be or to do anything for Him without at
that moment placing at his disposal ample and adequate ability both to be and to do that
thing for His glory."