Don’t Wear Another Man’s Armor
No one else can do the job that God chose us to do. God picked each of us to be used by Him exactly according to His perfect plan. Knowing our individual personalities, our talents and His plan for us, He handpicked us to walk a very clear path. It is the one He laid out only for us. Despite our own fears and doubts, we each have a great role set before us and wonderful things to accomplish for the Kingdom.
God formed us and gives us His power perfectly to grasp these amazing achievements. But we have to trust Him more than we trust our own eyes in order to seize these victories. We may get discouraged and wish that God called someone else, but that is just our flesh talking. It is subtly distrusting God’s casting. While we should always strive to be holier, we cannot be anyone else than us…and that is just perfect for the job. Look at David’s example. He was a young boy called to fight a giant for God. He trusted in God’s call on him, David, and this allowed him to show God’s glory.
David’s Example | God Chose David to Fight Goliath
David was chosen by God to take down Goliath. This may seem to make sense now as we are familiar with David’s adult life but at the time it appeared to be silliness. Goliath was at least 7 feet tall and a great warrior. The entire Israelite army was terrified of him. David was not much more than a child. It is likely that he was at oldest 16 years old. He was not a soldier. He was not even eligible to serve in the army. He was a shepherd, the job given to the youngest and smallest of the family.
A mighty brave armored warrior of Israel should have gone forward to face Goliath. Instead, God chose a teenaged shepherd boy. He did so for His reasons. David was specifically chosen for this mission for God’s glory. David was perfectly picked for the job, not anyone else.
So when Saul attempts to equip David for the battle, an interesting thing happens. Saul gives David his battle wear, heavy armor and sword, and attempts to have David fight like him. He tries to get David to battle like Saul would have fought. Saul was a big man. He is described as being head and shoulders taller than anyone else. His armor would have been larger and heavy. It would have been a great attribute and protection for him. It would have been a hindrance for David.
David Stays True to Himself | God Chose Him for a Reason
David could only fight his battle the way God called him to fight. He was smaller, likely quicker and deadly with a sling. These were the attributes of a shepherd, not a Kingly warrior according to the soldiers around them. Yet, it was exactly the way to defeat Goliath. God prepared him for this battle by having him fight bears and lions when he was younger. He was prepped and ready to fight like a shepherd. Fighting a giant like Goliath any other way would have been a mistake. Trying to fight like Saul would have been suicide. Winning the battle like Saul may have led to an even worse result.
Attempting to fight his battle like anyone else would have been foolish. He would have thrown away God’s training in the process. He may have seemed more exposed without the physical armor, but God put him there and was acting as his shield.
We all have battles to fight in this world. They can seem huge and impossible like fighting Goliath. The odds can be greatly against us. It is at this moment that we can want to be someone else. To be smarter, more eloquent, stronger or just anyone but messy old us can seem like the best thing possible. To be covered in Saul’s heavy impressive armor may seem like it offers more protection than relying upon God.
That is not God’s plan though. His judgment on what is needed to fight the battle is better than ours. He chooses the specific person with a specific history, a lifetime of training and the exact talents needed to win that battle. We just need to trust in His choice. The world will say it makes no sense but neither did choose David. God chose David for a reason – because David trusted God and would follow His direction.
God chose you for your battle. Whatever enemy is standing before you. God chose you to be the one to bring that scary warrior to their knees.
God says you are perfect for the fight…Do you trust His choice?
Tom Neary is loving life as an on fire follower of Jesus. Helping others see to the glory of Jesus and to live abundantly in Him is his mission. He is a Christian, husband, father, lawyer and a regular guy called to teach God’s Word simply. To check out more of what Tom is doing visit pastorunlikely.com and calvarycatonsville.com. Tom has also just launched a podcast “Come Let Us Disciple” focused on informal discipleship.
