Losing Heart

The Big Battle & The Great Victory

3.9.25 [1 Samuel 17:1-11, 32-50] River of Life (1st Sunday in Lent)

Eph. 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Action-packed, heart-pounding thrillers grip you. They know how to pique our interest, how to play on our curiosity. The best ones are written in such a way that you’re obsessed with it each step of the way. Especially when you have to wait a week to figure out how they’re going to resolve last week’s cliffhanger. We just have to know what happens. Does the main character make it out alive? Does the detective unravel the clues before it’s too late? Does the hero save the day? We feel that electric rush, that intense shiver, that cold-blooded shudder with even a quick recap of the action.

Thrillers are great entertainment. But there’s nothing worse than when someone spoils the ending for you. Has that ever happened to you? It ruins it, doesn’t it? No matter how excited you were to finish that novel or see that movie or finish that TV series, when you already know the ending it spoils the whole thing.   

I wonder if we don’t suffer from some spoiler-alert syndrome with the account of David versus Goliath. David versus Goliath has left its mark on our way of thinking. Even if you’ve never cracked open a Bible in your life, you know the basic story arc. A little guy fights a giant warrior and triumphs despite long odds. And it’s such a powerful and memorable story that we begin to think we see it all over the place. When a kid summons the courage to stand up to his or her bully and knocks them down a peg or two, it’s a David versus Goliath story. When a mom-and-pop shop goes toe to toe with the multi-million dollar corporation and comes out on top, it’s a David versus Goliath story. When the little-known college from the boonies knocks off the blue blood program with all the great athletes in the NCAA tournament, it’s a David versus Goliath story. When the rebel forces attack the Death Star and strike its one point of weakness, it’s a David versus Goliath story with spaceships. 

In our minds, we see so many examples of David and Goliath-like stories that it’s almost surprising to us when it doesn’t work out that way. There’s a part of us that’s shocked—almost appalled—when the David-like figure in the story doesn’t prevail. Why is that? 

Why do we think David should win? It’s easy to see why we want him to win. But why do we think he should win?  

Compare David to Goliath. David is a young shepherd boy—and readily admits that he can’t even fill out Saul’s armor. Goliath is a bronze behemoth, nine feet tall and wearing more than 100 pounds of armor. David has taken down some beasts before, but Goliath is battle-tested and bloodthirsty; he’s been a warrior since his youth.

We may want David to win. We may know that David does prevail. But why do we think that he should win?

Part of the reason that we think David should win is because we admire his pluck, his self-confidence when everyone else cowardly shrinks back. It’s easy to root for a guy like that. Part of the reason that we think David should win is because we appreciate his fresh strategy. David recognizes that Goliath wasn’t completely covered from head to toe in bronze armor and takes advantage of Goliath’s only weakness.  

But great self-confidence and a fresh strategy are not the reason David defeated Goliath. And, deep down, you know that. Plenty of people have walked into some great battle and been supremely self-confident and still been thoroughly trounced. Plenty of people have had a great plan of attack and some fresh and savvy strategy that works on paper but then didn’t on the field of battle. Great self-confidence and sharp strategy aren’t the reason David triumphed. And you know it as well as you know this story. 

Let me show you. Put yourself in the shepherd boy’s sandals. You’ve got some sling skills. You’ve got a lion and bear pelt on your wall at home. You see that Goliath’s forehead is unprotected. Are you volunteering to fight him? Are you running quickly toward the battle line to meet him? Are you felling that giant on your first shot?

Self-confidence and a fresh strategy are not enough to win your battles. Consider your daily battle against temptation and sin. Think about all the times you’ve drawn battle lines, promising you will never do that one sin again. Do you struggle with pride or anger, impatience or worry, lust or sloth? Does a fresh strategy really slay those giant temptations? Or do they just reappear and reorganize in different forms and fashions? 

You may tamp down your impatience or anger at home, but doesn’t it rear its ugly head when you’re behind the wheel? You may stave off your lust when you’re around your spouse, but what about when you’re out of town or hidden by internet anonymity? 

You may try to stay humble, but what about when your peers or your direct report gets the praise, the title, or the raise you’d been dreaming of? You may try to stay cool, calm, and collected, but how can you when it feels like all your deepest, darkest fears are coming true? You may commit yourself to working hard, but what happens when the labor is frustrating? When no one notices or cares? When you don’t receive the rewards you were expecting? What happens when it makes life harder? 

Self-confidence only leads to defeat in the battle against sin. A fresh strategy only produces a novel collapse. You and I are even less capable of defeating temptation and sin on our own than David was of defeating Goliath in his own strength. But the Lord who rescued David from the paw of the lion, the bear, and the Philistine has rescued us from the power of the Devil, the supremacy of the sinful nature, and the jaws of the grave. The battle is the Lord’s and the Lord saves his people and gives us a great victory over the Evil One. 

David wasn’t self-confident, he trusted the Lord. And the Lord had proven himself on battlefields like this against greater forces. The Lord had saved his people and given them great victories throughout Israel’s history without a sword or a spear. When Pharaoh’s six hundred chariots were chasing down the people of Israel and had them pinned against the Red Sea, the battle was the Lord’s. It was not with sword or spear that the Lord saved his people. He used Moses’ staff and outstretched arms and gave them a great victory. When the Midianites were so numerous that they were like swarms of locusts ravaging the land and plundering the Israelites, the battle was the Lord’s. It was not with sword or spear that the Lord saved his people. He used Gideon and three hundred men armed with torches and trumpets. The Lord gave his people a great victory. The battle is the Lord’s and he saves his people. 

But this isn’t just true in a couple of isolated accounts. The battle is always the Lord’s and he always saves his people. 

In the wilderness, the Son of God was assaulted by Satan with all kinds of temptations. Yet, it was not with the sword or the spear that the Lord fended off the old evil foe. Jesus relied on the word and will of God. He would not yield to the temptation of wielding his divine power to make his life easier, no matter how hungry he was. He would not worship the Old Wicked Foe no matter what authority or splendor Satan tried to offer. He would not put the Lord his God to the test no matter how much Satan questioned his status as the Son of God. 

Of course, that showdown was not the last time Satan tried to defeat the Lord. When the Devil recognized that a direct attack would not do what he wanted, he tried more indirect and underhanded tactics. He went after the disciples and the people that Jesus loved. Satan entered Judas’ heart and prompted him to betray Jesus. Satan sifted Peter and the other disciples like wheat as Jesus was arrested by the Temple guard. Yet even when he was abandoned and betrayed and beaten and bruised Jesus trusted in the Lord. 

Satan rejoiced as the crowds cried out Crucify him! Crucify him! Satan smiled as the chief priests and the teachers of the law and the elders mocked and challenged our Christ to come down from the cross so that they might believe in him. But, there on Calvary, the battle was the Lord’s. And it was not with sword or spear that the Lord saved his people but through bloody cross and empty tomb. The Devil struck his heel, but Jesus crushed the scaly serpent’s head and saved us. The battle is the Lord’s and we share in the victory. 

Like the shepherd boy David, our Good Shepherd Jesus stood as our champion, went toe to toe with our fearsome foe and triumphed. David’s battle against Goliath anticipates Jesus’ battle against Satan. Both battles are the Lord’s. He has saved his people and given us the victory, not with sword or spear but with his strength & Spirit.

As soon as David struck down Goliath and cut off the blasphemous beast’s head with his own sword, the rest of the Israelites were stirred to fight. They surged forward with a shout and pursued their enemies. In God’s power, confident in Christ’s victory, we do the same. We courageously chase away the forces of evil, the desires of the sinful flesh, the pressures of the sinful world, and the enticements of the Devil. The battle has already been won. The enemy is on their heels. So let us chase away temptation. Let us drive out all kinds of ungodliness and worldly passions. Let us resist the Devil and he will flee from our sight. Not because we have great self-confidence. Not because we have a strategy he’s never seen or thought of. But because the battle is the Lord’s and he’s already trounced the Tempter and given us his great victory. Amen.