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Has something or someone ever challenged you in your life and you've seen how you were uniquely prepared to meet this challenge?
David totally depended upon God to meet his challenges. God anointed David as the next king of Israel. God also prepared him to defeat his enemy.
Now, use your imagination, as we journey back through time to look at the Life Connection Story "David Part 1."
(Story adapted from I Samuel 16-17.)
My name is David. I am excited to share with you how God worked in my life.
I grew up in the town of Bethlehem, Israel, with my father, Jesse, and my seven older brothers. When I was a teenager, King Saul was Israel's first king, but he rejected God. So God decided to choose a new king-someone who loved God and depended upon Him. God told a man named Samuel that one of my father's sons would be the next king. God sent Samuel to Bethlehem, to our family, to choose the next king.
Since I was the youngest, I took care of my father's sheep while my family went to meet Samuel. My oldest brother, Eliab, was tall and handsome, so Samuel thought he would be the next king. But Eliab wasn't God's choice. God told Samuel that people judge others by what they look like, but He judges people by what is in their hearts.
All seven of my brothers passed in front of Samuel, but God didn't choose any of them. Confused, Samuel asked my father, "Are these all your sons?" Then my father told Samuel about his youngest son, me. My father told him I was tending the sheep. Samuel said, "Go get him. We won't sit down until he gets here."
When I arrived, God said to Samuel, "He is the one." Then I knelt in front of Samuel. He put oil on my head as a sign that God had chosen me to be the next king of Israel. But I didn't become king right away. I had to wait a long time. Only God knew when I would become king.
Israel was at war with the Philistine people, and King Saul was with Israel's army. Three of my seven brothers were fighting in the war, so my father sent me to take food and check on them.
The Philistines had a champion fighter named Goliath. He stood about nine feet tall! He was a giant! For forty days, he came out and dared any Israelite soldier to fight him. Each time he appeared, all the Israelite soldiers trembled in fear and ran away. When I arrived at my brothers' camp, the soldiers were lining up for battle. Then Goliath came out and dared the Israelite soldiers to fight him. Goliath did not belong to God. Why did he think he could speak against the armies of the living God?
I told King Saul that I would go and fight Goliath, but Saul said I was just a boy. I told Saul that God had prepared me for this battle because I had killed a lion and a bear when they attacked my father's sheep. God saved me from the lion and the bear, and I trusted Him to save me from this giant, too. Goliath would die because he stood against the armies of the living God. Saul blessed me and said I could fight Goliath. Then he put his armor on me, but it was too big and awkward. I took it off and used my slingshot, instead.
I chose five smooth stones from a stream and went out to meet the giant. Goliath moved toward me. I told him that he came to me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I came to him in the name of the Lord of heaven's armies. I ran toward Goliath, put a stone into my slingshot, and slung it at him. The stone sank into Goliath's forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground. Then I killed him with his own sword. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. Our men chased them and defeated them.
Let's thank God for all He has done and for His great love for us. Pray these words of praise to Him:
God, thank You that You can prepare me to overcome any "giant" in my life. I want to love You and depend upon You like David did.
Use I Samuel 16-17 and the Life Connection Story. They will help you complete your Life Connection Response.
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