Lent week4 Thursday

 David and Goliath

1 Samuel 17

1. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it.
2. Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.
3. Now the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel."
4. David asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel?Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"

27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him,

"This is what will be done for the man who kills him."

28 When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilder-ness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."

29 "Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?" 30 He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. 31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.

According to Malcolm Gladwell in 'David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants' there are medical experts who believe that Goliath was suffering from acromegaly, which causes rapid, excess, and abnormal growth. It has a side effect of causing restrictive sight. Goliath, in the biblical story, needs someone to lead him out and he has to get close to David to see him. Perhaps an indication of poor sight.

Although, it would appear, David does not stand a chance against this giant, Goliath, once you start factoring in that Goliath is weighted down with heavy armour, is slow and may have limited vision the situation takes on a different perspective.

Sometimes by talking through a challenging situation and considering different facades of the problem, a different perspective can emerge. Many times, there are factors in a difficult situation that we are not aware of. By pausing, reflecting, and praying a calmer more measured response may develop.

Pray

Hold my hand in Weakness.

Loving God, you are my strength. Hold my hand in my weakness and teach my heart to fly. With you, there's nothing to fear, nothing to worry about. Hold me tight in your embrace, so that I can be stronger than the challenges in my life.