Morning Dew
Key Passage: 1 Samuel 17
Key Text: 1 Samuel 17:40 – “Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.”
Undoubtedly, you must have had of David and goliath. This is such a fascinating story and it really captured my imagination as a child. How a little boy killed a mighty giant with a catapult, or a sling and a stone. I always marvelled at the bravery of this kid and in some way, feel I too could be a David someday. It had this ring of fairy tale about it. It seemed hyperbolic. But as I grew up and learnt the bible, I realised this is a true story and the whole battle between David and Goliath is an illustration of how we can defeat the enemy in our souls.
I could talk about David’s courage, his faith in the Lord, his understanding of the enemy, his sense of purpose, his motivation etc; but I am going to focus today on something I called the “five smooth stones from the brook”. David went to the brook and picked five smooth stones from it and put them in his shepherd’s pouch and with one of them he brought the giant down.
Prior to David going for the smooth stones, he had been offered Saul’s (the king) armour and sword. He tried them on but had to drop them, because he was not comfortable in them and he was not used to fighting with those weapons. Let me say, that most of us try to fight spiritual battles using human weapons. We put our trust in earthly systems and believe they would bail us out in times of trouble. Honestly, some of the issues we face have no known natural remedies. We should stop depending on natural means to solve spiritual problems. If David had fought Goliath with Saul’s weapons, I don’t think we would be celebrating him today.
The five smooth stones from the brook are symbolic of the word or promises of God from the bible. The flowing brook is a symbol of God’s word and David went for God’s method, rather than man’s understanding. He put these stones in his shepherd’s bag and used a sling to send the stone into Goliath’s forehead. What does this mean for us? David is a type of Christ and also a type of a believer. When we are facing difficult and humanly insurmountable issues, we are to go into God’s word and pick pout the promises of God. I recommend at least five per issue. Meditate on them and make sure they are sown in hearts. This is the shepherd’s bag. Then we must use our sling or catapult to send the word of god out. This is our tongues and mouths. We must confess and proclaim the truth about God’s word over the circumstance and situation and we shall undoubtedly see the change come to pass. God’s word in our mouths is as powerful as God’s words in His mouth.
Isaiah 55: 10-11 – For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
IF THE WORD OF GOD CAN ENTER OUR HEARTS ABOUT A MATTER, IT PRODUCES THE FAITH OF GOD IN OUR HEARTS. ONCE FAITH IS IN OUR HEARTS, WE CAN SPEAK TO THE SITUATION AND IT WOULD CHANGE TO CONFORM TO THE WORD OF GOD. GOD’S WORD CAN NEVER RETURN VOID. IT HAD TO PERFORM WHAT IT WAS SENT TO DO!!!
Get your five smooth stones from the word of God and take your giant down. God’s word is the most powerful weapon in His creation.
Let’s Pray: Father God, I thank you for showing me the power of the five smooth stones from the brook. I will hide your heart in my heart and deploy these to destroy any opposition to my life. Thank you for the power in your word, in Jesus name I pray. Amen.