Obedience Over Fear

Today starts our first day of evangelism, which is both exciting and scary, especially if you've never done it before. It requires us to be obedient, even if we're nervous or afraid... much like a certain well-known Bible character...

David was the youngest of all his brothers and was a shepherd as a teenager. David’s job was to tend to and protect his family’s herd of sheep and goats. From time to time, lions and bears would come around and try to eat them. David would have to stand up and protect them – even if that meant attacking and killing them by himself.

1 Samuel 17:34-37

"But David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending 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.”

Let me ask you, as a teenager, how was David able to have the confidence to fight against these animals instead of being fearful?

• The Lord rescued him and gave him the strength.
• He had faith that the Lord was with him.
• He was obedient and went for it.

In the scripture we just read, the scene was on a battlefield. David was bringing supplies to his brothers who were soldiers. He had just overheard Goliath, a giant Philistine soldier over nine feet tall, threaten the army of Israel and mock the Lord. He had done this for 40 days straight! All of the Israelite soldiers were too terrified and unwilling to challenge Goliath 1 on 1 as the loser would lose the battle for their entire army. David wasn’t terrified and asked the king if he could go fight him! Let’s read verse 36 again:

"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.”

And David did just that…how did he defeat Goliath?

The Lord rescued David from Goliath. David used a stone in a slingshot to hit Goliath. The stone sunk into his forehead and Goliath fell face down. David then took Goliath’s sword and killed him, winning the battle for the Israelites.

Why do you think David was so confident that he could take on an enemy giant like Goliath? As David had faith when killing those lions and bears over and over again, it built his faith and knowing that the Lord was with him every time. He just had to respond with obedience and faith.

When that 9-foot giant comes into your life, have you exercised enough faith and obedience to know that God will rescue you from it as well?

Things to think about today:

Hopefully, for us, we won’t get the chance to fight a giant, lion, or bear this week 😉 BUT what can we learn from David in this story?

• What if each "sheep" was a person that God is asking you to impact?
• What if the giant/Goliath in your life is fear that the enemy is using to prevent you from making an impact?
• What if acting in obedience and faith by saying YES and doing what the Lord is asking is the stone and slingshot that kills the giant of fear?
• What is the Lord asking you to be obedient and have faith for?
• What is holding you back?