Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David’s hand.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, October 23, 2020
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
It was fun re-reading this story to write this devotion. It’s so easy just to think of the kids’ song “Only a Boy Named David” and simplify the story to the brief encounter between David and Goliath. The actual story has a lot more to it. And, boy, that David kid had a mouth on him. I mean, not that he swore or anything, but he just stood there and spouted off at anyone and everyone. Such faith! Such confidence! Which, of course, we are to understand was his gift from God, and why God chose him as Israel’s next king.
Of course, the best part of the story is the way Goliath underestimated David based on his youth and size, and the fact that he wasn’t wearing armor and carried no sword. How often the world judges the value of others by their shows of power! And how often God chooses the small and apparently weak to put the strong in their place! David thought outside the box, as we might say today, and with a simple, effective method that played to his own abilities, took down someone he ought not to have been able to.
Where in our lives are we trying too hard to fit into the world’s idea of what’s valuable or powerful or important? Where might we be much more effective by thinking differently? How might we answer God’s call to champion the oppressed in new and creative ways? David’s story doesn’t just make a fun kids’ song. It inspires us to prevail against the odds.
Gracious God, transform my apparent weaknesses into the strength to do your will. Amen.
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