1 Samuel 17:49 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 facedown on the ground.
Some people wonder how anything gets done these days. There is so much dysfunction in the political world. It is getting to then point where people who disagree with each other on issues can’t have a civil discussion with each other. Insults get exchanged and we become even more entrenched in our beliefs.
But this isn’t a new thing. This has been happening for thousands of years. In fact, we have an example of this in our passage today. We are near the end of the story of David killing Goliath.
But how did these two armies get in the position they found themselves? Well, fear on one side and pride on the other kept them locked in a stalemate for over forty days. And every day was the same. The two armies would line up, their chosen combatant would enter the field of battle and Israel would retreat with the pride on the ground.
But then enters a very unlikely shepherd, a young man with no qualifications to enter the field of battle. No one would have looked at David and examined his “Fighting Man” trading cards and said, “This is the perfect person to fight the giant.”
But remember, the LORD doesn’t choose leaders based on the same criterion that we use. He has his own measures, and David meets themes important one. He doesn’t think too much of himself. He has confidence in the LORD. Period!
The full story is worth the read, but we come to this moment when Goliath has decided to take on David, someone who is wielding a stick, at least in Goliath’s eyes. Goliath’s assessment is that David poses no threat. He is just a little figure who will be easily defeated in hand to hand combat.
But David has the LORD in his pouch in the shape of some stones. He chooses one of those stones and places it in his sling and with a whirling acceleration sends the stone into Goliaths forehead. The force a stone propelled in this way is like a 45Cal round. It would explode Goliath’s brain on impact.
The stalemate ends. The Philistines are routed. They run for their lives. And the Israelites run after them and defeat them. And all because of a young man with a stone and a sling who knew the power of the LORD firsthand.
Too often we look at leaders from the outward appearance. They don’t look like they could be a leader. But the look of a good leader can’t be seen with the naked eye. Good leaders have character on the inside. They may be really ugly on the outside!
But character shines though in the way they conduct themselves. There are some people of character alive today. Some even in the political arena, although their ranks seem to be thinning. Money and power have a way of thinning the ranks of those with character. Corruption so easily happens.
But what about us? Are we people of character! Does our public and private life match? Would the things we do in secret make good headlines or get ignored by media editors as unable to sell copy?
If our character has suffered, we can get it restored by true repentance and humility going forward. David could have boasted about the stone and his part in the victory, but he didn’t. He gave credit to where credit was due. He wasn’t perfect, but he did know the source of his power and position.
The Arnold Journey 