"All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands...Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into the forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground." 1 Samuel 17:47-49.
I've got to tell you I have loved this story since childhood! Good vs. bad, strong vs. weak and the good guy wins. These few verses have amazing implications that we can implement into any Goliath we face. In theory, the odds of David winning this battle were very slim, David being a shepherd boy and Goliath being over 7 feet tall. The faith and audacity of David makes his own men ridicule his ideas about defeating the Philistine. Those closest to us sometimes send out these similar discouragements when we are facing battles. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to fill up our own "bag of stones" so that when the battle rages we are pulling from what we know - not what someone else is carrying in their bags. Our gathered stones of faith ensures our belief that as we run towards our challenges we can have confidence that God will fight our battles successfully.
If we never tend to our bags and collect what is required we run into battle ill-equipped and defeated before the charge. Our love relationship with God should be foremost in our lives in the calm times so that when we go into battle our stones are nice and smooth from all of the gentle carresses we have given them. Romancing the stone is giving our faith in God the proper attention, stroking and molding for facing our Goliaths in addition to building our love relationship with Him.
How are you romancing the stone?
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Hi Brenda, have a safe trip. Mom tried to call but could not get up with you. She is now taking a shower and will call you again.
There is an old saying (do you know where old sayings come from, I sure don't). Anyhow, "THE BIGGER THEY ARE, THE HARDER THEY FALL". As a child in Roanoke, Va. we (Sonny Godsey and me) used to play a game patterned after this Bible story. I always was David until Sonny figured out that he was going to be killed. After that we alternated between being the good guy vs. the bad guy.
Watch out for the bad guys on the road.
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