It is often said, “The eyes are a window to the soul,” but I think you can learn a lot about a person when they speak. What do they say? When do they say it? To whom do they say it? Perhaps words are a better window to the soul than eyes. What can we learn from David’s words?
David’s brother Eliab, King Saul, and Goliath all doubted him. According to them, he was a young thrill-seeking shepherd boy who should have been minding his own business. He wasn’t a military man, never tested or trained in battle. He was a rookie amateur trying to take out a career soldier with a pointy stick; the middle school JV squad had a better chance of going up against the #1 team in the Super Bowl than he did. What chance did he have?
Notice what David said in 1 Samuel 17. He said to his brother, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” He said to King Saul, “I have struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Then David said to Goliath the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
The living God makes all the difference in the world. He is not to be defied. He is worth defending. He is the living God, the Lord God. He delivers His people from their enemies. The Lord saves. Eliab, King Saul, and Goliath were all weak because they feared and had no faith, but David, who was young and small, is a man after God’s own heart. God looks on the inside. God chooses the weak to shame the “strong.” David is strong in faith and conviction and action. He knows which side his bread is buttered on. He serves the living God and that makes all the difference. God is faithful. And David wins.
Consider your words this season. Why do you speak the way you do? What do your words show about your beliefs? Do you speak to defend God? Will you defend Him and take up His cause? Are David’s words your words? What do your words say about God?