Do you have the luxury of being a trust fund baby? Or do you worry about your trust fund for your children's or grandchildren's college education being eroded by the economy or by the KS Regents recent decision to raise KS colleges tuition? Or perhaps you're one of the cynics who say that Social Security as a trust fund won't be solvent when you need it? It's easy to fall into the role of "I'm the little guy up against greater forces than my assets - my talents - my abilities are able to confront and conquer.
David and Goliath is often viewed as a children's story about the little guy who took on a giant and conquered him with a slingshot and a smooth stone right to the "unprotected-by-armor" spot on Goliath's forehead. Like David's Hebrew compatriots, we want to cheer whenever the little guy wins. We love to identify with the come-from behind hero. Although the story is lengthy (1 Samuel 17: 1-49), it's full of irony and little details that enhance the drama of the climax when Goliath falls down dead in one stroke of a slingshot.
So what were David's assets that he should come from behind and win fame and fortune in the eyes of Israel? David became a hero, a household name, winning King Saul's daughter for his wife, and the next king of Israel after more exciting adventures. But at the beginning David was a runt - the 8th son of Jesse - a rural remote family from nowheres-ville. David was a shepherd (considered a lowly, menial job) and David carried food and supplies to his older brothers in Israel's army. David was DEFINITELY NOT a trust fund baby!
David's major asset and his source of his power was his trust in God. David referred to God as the God of the LIVING armies. David's power was his faith. Where and how David's faith was honed and strengthened, we have no details. Did his mother teach him biblical stories of how God moved and breathed in his ancestors' lives? While out on the hillsides shepherding his sheep, did David gaze at the stars twinkling overhead and see God's glory? As he held a newborn sheep in his arms, did he marvel at the miracle of what God creates? Did he call on God when he had to kill a lion or bear attacking his sheep and learn to trust in God through these experiences? However David's faith was kindled and strengthened, David's trust was placed in the "armies of the living God." There David found the courage and trust to take on Goliath as the armies of Israel cowered, paralyzed with fear in the face of Goliath the giant.
Where do we place our trust when we need courage? Do we depend on our material trust funds that we have accumulated or have we built up our spiritual trust funds? How do we trust that God will be with us as we take a step into something new? What kind of bear and lions stand in our way of seeing God's beckoning? Is our faith in a passive God or in the living God who calls us out of our fearful shortsightedness into bold new ventures?
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Shelley
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