As Christians, sometimes we struggle with our faith and how we are expressing it outwardly. Being a Christian means living out your faith in ANY and ALL situations. We all know the story of David and Goliath. David defeated Goliath with just a stone. But not many people have actually read the passage. Not many people know why David was headed to the battlefield in the first place.

1 Samuel 17:1-17 sets up the stage for battle. The Philistines were on one mountain and Saul and the other Israelites were on another with a valley separating the two. Goliath steps out from the Philistines causing the Israelites to draw back in fear because he was a whopping nine feet and six inches tall and all of his armor was made of heavy bronze. Goliath called out in verse 8 "Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us. I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together." It says that they all drew back in fear and were dismayed.

This is the moment when God sends David. David's brothers were on the battlefield, so his father sent him to bring them food and to check up on them then bring back a token. David arrived on the scene and heard the Goliath speaking the words we heard earlier. All of the Israelites present believed that Goliath would defeat them (v. 25). David then asks in verse 26 "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" What is often overlooked, but what I believe is the most important part of the story, is the dialogue between Saul and David.

And David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth and he has been a man of war from his youth." But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God." And David said, "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the Lord be with you!"
1 Samuel 17:32-37 (ESV)

Saul handed over his bronze helmet and his sword to David as any normal person would do. David tried to go, but then David said to Saul "I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them." He didn't trust the armor, but he had full trust in God that He would protect Him. All he fought with was a sling and five stones.

Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the hose of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with and spear. For the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand."
1 Samuel 17:45-47 (ESV)

David was a lot smaller and weaker than Goliath on his own, but with God, he was the giant. It was against all odds that David would defeat him, but he did because all he needed was to put his full trust in God. To everybody's surprise but his own, he came out victorious.

Too often we are afraid to do something rather it be out of your comfort zone or you don't believe you can do it. What you have to get from the story of David and Goliath is that David was small and he was weak. There was no way he could defeat Goliath, but he did and that was a testament to God. As humans we want to do things our way, but our plans always fall apart because it isn't God's plan. We have to keep humbling and reminding ourselves that it is His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Next time you are afraid, put full trust in Him and have faith. Surrender all your control (as if you ever had any). Pray and know everything will be okay because God is ultimately in control and He will always protect you. He works all things together for His good.