Power In the Stone

“…but I come against you in the name of the LORD God Almighty” 1 Sam. 17:45.

“So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in the hand…” 1 Sam. 17:50.

Christian or no Christian, we would be hard pressed to find someone in our sphere of influence who hadn’t heard the story of David and Goliath.  David as a young teenager had already figured out where his confidence and strength lay – in the power of the Almighty.  David didn’t come before Goliath boasting of how powerful the little smooth stone in his pocket was, but how powerful his big God was.  David intuitively understood what many Christians today have not yet learned.  The power of God is not in our strengths but in the empowerment God places upon our strengths.

I have written many things over the course of my life but it wasn’t until I turned to God pursuing Him that my writings became empowered by Him for application and encouragement.  My written words were like lifeless stones that lay by the riverside until I met God there, and He brought my words to life.  My writings used to be simple and empty, but after God’s touch they became His empowerment for His purposes.  When I write in my own strength nothing is special about them, but when written in God’s power they become life giving words.  The same is true with your strengths and talents. 

Whatever we face we too have a sling that contains a stone…the Stone…the only weapon we will ever need in any given circumstance.  ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame’ 1 Peter 2:6.  It is in the power of our Stone that our talents and strengths will have the enabling of Christ to accomplish anything.  We will not boast of the ‘thing’ that brings down our mountains but will testify about the ‘Who.’ 

David never even mentioned the stone when facing his giant because he knew the power was in the calling not the strength.