Lynn Jones: God helps us face challenges
By Lynn Jones
Michelangelo had a sculpture in mind. To create the sculpture, he needed a piece of marble. He was shown a piece of marble that he could use, but there was one problem. The piece of marble had already been rejected by several of the leading sculptors of his day. Michelangelo was undeterred. He saw the possibilities in the block of marble that the others had not. He began working on the marble and crafted a masterpiece—his powerful, 18-foot sculpture of David, the great biblical king.
Michaelangelo’s creation paralleled the process used by God in the creation of the biblical king David. The boy David came to visit the battlefield where his brothers and the other Israelites were facing the Philistines, who were led by their great champion Goliath. Nobody saw in the shepherd boy David any possibility of his going to face Goliath. They dismissed him completely.
The Bible is filled with accounts of how God used unlikely people to accomplish great things for Him. I am constantly amazed at what God can do in the lives of unlikely people. Don’t ever dismiss someone as being incapable of accomplishing great things for Him.
David told King Saul that he had never fought a giant, but he had been victorious when he fought a lion and a bear in defending his sheep. Small victories prepare us to face bigger challenges. They teach us the need to be faithful in small things so that the Lord can entrust us with larger things. Not only that, but they can give us confidence as we face bigger challenges.
Since no one else was willing to face Goliath, King Saul decided to send David out to face him. In preparation for the battle, Saul gave his own armor to David, but when David put it on, it did not fit.
We often repeat the error of Saul in trying to put our own armor on someone else. We try to put our armor on our children or on someone else. Our intentions are good, but all individuals are different. They have different gifts and possibilities. We must allow them to use those gifts without forcing them to do it like we do.
Having rejected Saul’s armor, David went out to face Goliath armed only with his sling and five stones taken from a nearby stream. The Lord was with David, and he won a great victory over the giant.
A small boy saw a picture in his story book of David facing Goliath. The boy said to his dad, “They left something out of this picture. Our Sunday School teacher told us that when David fought the giant, the Lord was with him. I don’t see the Lord in this picture.”
In facing your challenges, don’t leave the Lord out of the picture. He is with you now and always will be.
Lynn Jones is a retired pastor who lives in Oxford. He does supply preaching for churches in his area and often serves as an interim pastor. Jones is also an author, has written two books and writes a weekly newspaper column. He may be contacted at: kljones45@yahoo.com.
