Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “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?”
— First Samuel 17:26
David was God’s anointed. To his brothers, however, he was just a little boy who had sneaked away from his duties at home to see the battle. David’s brothers were probably not too happy that Samuel had anointed him instead of one of them. Furthermore, it probably annoyed them when he asked why no one was going out to defeat Goliath. His oldest brother said, “I know why you are here. You just want to be where the action is.” Yet David answered, “Is there not a cause?” (1 Sam. 17:29).
David knew there was a reason for his coming at that specific time. He was God’s anointed, and his being there meant something. He had an inner realization that God had sent him for this very purpose.
Like David, we should also be able to recognize when such a time arrives. It is not unusual for people to act cowardly as the Israelites did in this situation. If, however, the Lord has revealed something to us, shouldn’t we have the same boldness as David? We should be able to say, “Is there not a cause for our being here at this moment? We are here for the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ!”
Adapted from David: After God’s Heart, pages 51-52.
Tomorrow: “Confident in the Lord”