Don’t Wear Another Man’s Armor
No one can do the job that God chose you to do. God picked you for a very specific purpose. You are meant to be used by Him according to His perfect plan. He handpicked you to walk a very clear path. He did so knowing your individual personality, talents and His plan for mankind.
Despite your fears and doubts, you have wonderful things to accomplish for the Kingdom. God formed you. He gives you power to reach amazing achievements. God Doesn’t Call the Qualified He Qualifies the Called. But you have to trust Him in order to seize these victories.
You may get discouraged. You may wish that God called someone else but that is just your flesh talking. It is subtly distrusting God’s casting. While you should always strive to be holier, you cannot be anyone else than you…and you are perfect for the job. How do you know? God chose you and He is never wrong!
David is a great example of this truth. David was a young boy when he was called to fight a giant for God. He trusted in God’s call on him rather than man’s judgment of his. This allowed him to show God’s glory.
God Chose David to Fight Goliath
David was chosen by God to take down Goliath. This may seem to make sense now as you are familiar with David’s adult life. It seemed like madness at the time.
Goliath was at least 7 feet tall. He was a terrifying warrior. The entire Israelite army was petrified of him. David was not much more than a child. He was about 16 years old. He was not a soldier. He was not even eligible to serve in the army at the time. He was “just” a shepherd. This was the job given to the youngest and smallest of the family.
Who would you choose to fight a 9-foot tall warrior? Who would be most qualified?
A mighty brave armored warrior of Israel is the obvious choice. A war-hardened veteran should have gone forward to face Goliath. Reason, logic, and analytics all point to a clear type of person to fight God’s battle God doesn’t work according to your expectations and best logic. Instead, God chose a teenage shepherd boy. He picked the boy his brothers overlooked. He did so for His reasons. Why was David Chosen to Be King? Faith in the Lord is Everything!
David was chosen for this mission for God’s glory. David was perfectly picked for the job, not anyone else.
When Saul attempts to equip David for the battle, an interesting thing happens. Saul gives David his heavy armor and sword. He attempts to have David fight the battle the way Saul would have fought the battle. 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 Saul.
It would have been a hindrance to 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. He was quick and deadly with a sling. God had 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.
Attempting to fight his battle like anyone else would have been foolish
. David 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.
You have battles to fight in this world. They can seem huge and impossible like fighting Goliath. The odds can be greatly against you. It is at this moment that you can want to be someone else. To be smarter, more eloquent, stronger or just anyone but messy old you 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 yours.
He chooses the specific person with a specific history, a lifetime of training and the exact talents needed to win that battle.
You just need to trust in His choice. The world will say it makes no sense but neither did choosing David. God chose David for a reason – because David trusted God and would follow His direction.
Click Here for a great look at Why God Chose David as King.
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.
Jesus works with the Willing, not the Most Impressive.
God says you are perfect for the fight…Do you trust His choice?
Very inspiring!
I am encouraged by God choosing me for my battle, not my battle for me.
powerful!
Thanks Gail! It is great to see how wonderful the Lord is truly!
PTL! Indeed it is! 🙂
How do we know the path God has in plan for us? I often feel lost without any clarity of the present nor the future. I trust and pray To the Lord but maybe my faith and prayer is not strong enough. How do you know when God is showing you the way?
Hi Lumi – there is a general principle set out in the Bible. God does not give us every step we will take in our future as that would allow us to walk forward without Him. He will give us the next step though. It could be as detailed as a specific plan or calling – like a job or ministry – it also could be as simple as doing the simple things set out in the Bible. Love others where you are, preach the Gospel, make disciples – these are direct commands to each of us. If we trust Him and set out mind on being faithful with these clear directions, it is usually then that God will give us the next step. We tend to think the great things in the faith are the exotic when most of the impact of the church over the centuries has been through simple believers like you and I being faithful where we are. So God may call you with a specific path, but until then you have a purpose right where you are.
“Attempting to fight his battle like anyone else would have been foolish. He would have thrown away God’s training in the process”
I had often wondered why my path, and my scars, seemed so different to me, like there is no one that had made all the mistakes I had made.
We are all well suited for something… now, I trust God to show me what it is.
Amen! Paul was so great as the Apostle of grace partly because his life before Jesus was so completely wrong and based on justification by the law. I fell so often in life so God can use me to speak to the fallen.
…the way Saul would have fought the batter – should read ‘battle’
I think – and hope – this doesn’t post… sorry if it does, but I guess you can remove it??
Blessings…
Thanks for the correction! I read things as they should be so I guess I am an editing optimist.
Good thoughts. I often only look for the easy tasks and avoid the Goliaths. I need to keep my heart and mind open to the tasks God has for me that seem greater than my capability.
Thank! Yeah, me too! It gets easier when we realize we are not capable of any good thing – it is God on the little things too. So why would He be challenged by the big things. He is God after all.
If we’re not willing to serve God then we won’t know our purpose. And I mean to the point of being jealous for His name. (1 Samuel 17:26 NASB) Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will 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 taunt the armies of the living God?”
I have been following God’s call for my life for several years. And that is to redeem lost men, who have failed at life. It is not guaranteed success, but richly rewarding when it happens.
So glad to hear you are following the Lord’s call! It can be challenging at times but it is always worth it. You get to know the Lord so well. God bless you.
Wow. This is indeed amazing. I needed to hear this message and now I feel that indeed God chose me to bring the worrier down on his knees. God bless you and continue to be useful to God. Be a vessel inwhich God pours His vane and feed His people.
Hi Masindi – I am so blessed to hear God blessed you through this message! He is so good! Thank you for the encouragement and God bless you as well!
I believe that sometimes my lack of confidence keeps me from pushing forward fully into the gifts God has gifted me with.
I always thought my actions had to be grand, but now I understand that God is pleased when I act on his blessings on me.
When I serve with vigor and pleasure in helping others.
Hi – yes, you are not alone in thinking that about needing to be grand, but that is not God’s view. He looks for hearts dedicated to Him and uses them in all sorts of ways, those we think are big and little, to carry out His grand plan.