But He might use you …
Turn on your television and look at the new channel. Wars rumble across continents, the skies seem heavier with each passing headline, and somewhere between the chaos of collapsing economies and another broken promise from another broken system, people are growing weary. It’s not just the world that feels like it’s groaning – it’s us. Hearts are heavy. Fear sits close. And for many, the future feels more like a battlefield than a hope.
That’s why stories like David and Goliath still carry weight – not as sentimental fables for Sunday mornings, but as anchors for the soul when the storm clouds rumble in. The valley of Elah wasn’t a metaphorical battlefield – it was dust and sweat, breath and blood.
Watching nearby, witnessing the noise and tension of the battlefield, was David – youngest son of Jesse. He’s not a soldier or a warrior, just a delivery boy with grain, bread and cheese in his pack for his brothers, but his heart burned with something more and as he stepped closer, he could see the giant’s sneer, smell the sweat and tension in the air and hear every word of defiance hurled at the people of God.
And right there, we see the moment for what it truly is. The sling and stones may catch our eye, but they’re not the point. The real story isn’t about what David held in his hand—it’s about the God who held David. The One who goes before, who fights our battles, and who calls ordinary shepherds into extraordinary moments of faith.
1 Samuel 17 tells of a shepherd boy appearing like an Amazon delivery driver with roasted grain, ten loaves of bread and ten cheeses stepping into a moment no one thought he belonged in. Saul saw a boy. Goliath saw a joke but heaven saw a vessel – a heart aligned with the living God. “You come to me with a sword and with a spear,” David said, “but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel” (1 Samuel 17:45, ESV).
And that’s the heart of it. This wasn’t David’s battle. It was the Lord’s.
We often approach life thinking we need to be enough – strong enough, strategic enough, spiritual enough. David wasn’t enough in himself. He knew that. His strength wasn’t in his skill; it was in his surrender. He didn’t face Goliath to prove his worth. He stood because he was already confident in God’s worth – His authority, control, and unshakable presence.
That’s what Lordship means. Not simply that God is high and lifted up – though He is. But that He is near. Present in the fight. Supreme over every threat. Sovereign in every valley.
Grace isn’t the cushion that catches us when we fall short – it’s the power that carries us when we step out. David didn’t earn divine favour by courage. Courage came because he trusted in divine favour. That’s what grace does – it meets us where we are, not where we should have been. That’s a challenge – your challenge.
The same Lord who spoke creation into being stood behind David that day, not as a distant deity, but as a covenant-keeping God, faithful to His people. He’s the same God who goes with you too, never missing a step.
We all face “Goliaths” and most of them don’t wear armour or shout curses from hilltops. They whisper in offices, in places you don’t want to be, in sleepless nights. They say, “You won’t make it.” “You’ve failed too many times.” “You’re not enough.”
That’s where prophetic ministry often steps in bringing criticism and encouragement; ‘this is not how things were meant to be’ God has not forgotten you, don’t give up!’
Those giants forget who your God is and in response for us the apostle Paul asserts, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Not hypothetically – for real. If the God who did not spare His own Son is with you, what threat remains that can unseat His purposes? Grace is not a flimsy sentiment – it is the hard-won gift secured by Christ, our Champion, who disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame (Colossians 2:15).
Christ, the true and better David, didn’t simply face a giant – He faced death itself. And through His cross, He conquered every enemy. That’s not poetic, it’s reality. And because of Him, we don’t fight for victory – we fight from it.
That means your weakness isn’t a liability. It’s a context for grace. Your fear doesn’t disqualify you – it’s the backdrop for faith. And your future isn’t fragile – not when it rests in the hands of an omnipotent God who works all things according to the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11). That’s your encouragement for 2026.
So yes, step into the valley. Not because you’re fearless, but because the Lord is present. Not because you have it all figured out, but because He holds all things together. This isn’t about trying harder. It’s about trusting deeper.
Courage is not the denial of danger; it’s the defiance of despair in the presence of divine authority.
David’s victory wasn’t the result of his boldness. It was the fruit of grace and the manifestation of God’s Lordship – His authority over the giant, His control over the battle, and His presence with the shepherd. For you.
That same Lord reigns today. And He has not changed.
Couldn’t resist it: 1 Samuel 17:17–18 – David took cheeses with him to fight Goliath!