So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.” So David took them off.
— First Samuel 17:38-39
Saul offered David his armor, but David ultimately refused it. He fought according to who he was as a shepherd and used the sling and stones he knew. The secret of fighting is not to borrow from others but to use what we ourselves have learned and applied. You may repeat someone else’s teaching—there is nothing wrong with that—but if you want to war the genuine warfare, what you wield has to be something that comes from you.
Saul’s armor might have been of use if David was only interested in protecting himself, but his intention was to attack the enemy, not to set up a defense. When David went out to meet Goliath, he carried no protection; he just went out. In his mind there was only, “Either he dies, or I die.” David was not interested in self-preservation; his desire was to see God’s testimony lifted up on the earth.
If we are after the Lord’s heart, when the time comes to fight, we will not consider how to protect ourselves or our interests; our only desire will be to see that the Lord’s interest is cared for. We all should be so firm when it comes to this matter.
Adapted from David: After God’s Heart, pages 52-53.
Tomorrow: “Approved and Persecuted (1)”