Bruce Collins, Evangelist

1 Samuel 17:39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.

This Philistine that David was about to fight was a big boy, probably about 9 feet tall. Nobody from the armies of Israel was willing to take him on until David the shepherd boy came along. David was not a proven warrior at this time even though the previous chapter describes him as a warrior, but He knew and trusted in the Living God and he knew how to use a sling and a stone.

Once David said he would fight the Philistine, then Saul, who would not fight this man himself, seemed to know how David should do it. He armed David in the way that a man trained in Saul’s army would normally be armed. Saul’s armor didn’t work for David since he had not trained in it, but he had trained himself to use a sling and stone.

Have you ever noticed that if you want to know the will of God in your life, all you have to do is ask someone else? People often complain that they don’t know the will of God for their own lives, but they always seem to know the will of God for everyone else. How do we take advice and yet avoid falling into the trap of doing that which God has not fitted us to do? I know it is God’s will that all men should be saved. I know that those who are saved should be baptized. I know that those who are baptized should consecrate themselves to the Lord, but exactly how they should serve the Lord once they have consecrated themselves to Him is certainly not a decision I can make for them. David’s path to greatness was criticized by His brothers and was not the path that Saul understood. However, David had spent his life taking care of sheep and the Lord used what he had learned in that experience to slay Goliath. It was not the normal path to becoming a warrior.

If God has called us to be a personal worker, we probably shouldn’t try to be preachers. If God has called us to be shepherds, we probably shouldn’t try to be evangelists. If we are called to a work that cannot be done while carrying a normal job, we probably shouldn’t feel guilty when the Lord uses his people to support our work. They get the reward for being helpers so that those they support can get the reward for doing a work that would not otherwise be possible.

The Lord often takes people like David and you and me that others do not think can or should do a particular job and commissions them to do His work. He has them use means like prayer and faith and the Word of God that others do not think are sufficient by themselves for this work. And then He surprises us all by making it work. David won because he used what God had fitted him to use in a battle that the Lord had called him to fight, and because he didn’t allow himself to be turned aside by those who were unwilling to engage the enemy. May we be wise enough to know our limitations, to have confidence in the Lord whose power is unlimited, and to use the abilities God has given us to win His battles.

Bruce Collins