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.” (NIV)

Even if you’re speaking to someone who is not a Christian, the odds are good they know what story you’re talking about if you refer to David and Goliath.  It’s a well-known story, and yet, there are nuances that can slip by. So, let’s give some context.  

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The armies of Israel and Philistia were at a standoff when Goliath challenged Israel to a one-on-one combat to decide the whole battle. All eyes likely turned to Saul, but he was not eager to fight Goliath. And do you want to know something? That seems like a 100% reasonable response.  

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Accounts vary a little, but Goliath was nearly 10-ft. tall and wore armor that weighed approximately 125 pounds. The tip of his spear point was 15 pounds alone and from every indication, he knew exactly how to use it to deadly effect. If I found myself fighting Goliath, my only hope would be that he was clumsy, but we know from Saul that Goliath had been a warrior since his youth. He would have been insanely powerful, fast, and an absolute killer.  

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I don’t know about you, but I tend to read this story and daydream that if I found myself transported into the middle of this unfolding situation, I would respond like David. If I’m being honest, though, I would probably have been just as terrified of Goliath as Saul and the rest of the army. Are you kidding me? Do you want to fight that dude? I don’t want to fight that dude! The Israelites were so scared that David just talking about fighting Goliath got back to Saul, and he sent David out without even knowing who he was (no joke, read verse 55).  

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So, what made David, the shepherd boy, step up to fight Goliath?  

First off, David clearly fought for God first and his people second. He saw himself as representing an all-powerful God with whom he had a personal relationship. When Goliath heaped insults upon the Israelites, the taunts seemed to rile David up because insults directed at Israel were by extension directed at his God. David saw himself as fighting for God, not for a terrified king. This completely changed his perspective and an incredible courage flowed out of that knowledge.  

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Second, David knew something that very, very few others knew – Samuel had anointed him king of Israel. When Goliath hurled insults and an army stood ready to enslave the people of Israel, he couldn’t help but take it personally. When God anoints us with a purpose, we can’t help but respond and do things others would consider impossible.  

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Third, and keep in mind Scripture doesn’t tell us this specifically, but I speculate that David may also have fought Goliath for respect from his peers. As a shepherd boy, he sat very near the bottom of the societal pecking order, and we see several times people reminding him of that. While David was a man after God’s own heart, he was still a man with his own motives like the rest of us (1 Sam. 17:26). Instead of this sounding disparaging, I find it inspiring that God still wants to use us, even if our motives are less than 100% selfless. David’s motives may have been pure, but it’s also reasonable to think that they may have been mixed like ours so often are.

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Now, what I find profound about this story is that God put it on David’s heart to fight Goliath. The result? Instead of requiring coercion for him to fight, he adamantly argued that sending him was the right thing to do. When God puts a call on our lives, we will be ready to fight battles we otherwise wouldn’t attempt. What battles has God anointed you to fight in your life today?  

God, we may not be called to fight literal giants, but I pray that you would give us wisdom to see which battles you want us to fight and the courage to step up like David. Amen.