When Your Shoes Don’t Fit, Don’t Wear Them

1 Samuel 17:38-39 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off.

When David went up against Goliath, he went up against all earthly odds. You know this—because you’ve heard this story since you were in preschool. Even people who don’t believe the Bible like the quote the David and Goliath story.

What is important and often lost in this epic battle is how David fought. Its interesting that David came to Goliath with a measly slingshot and five rocks.

Keep in mind that Goliath came from long line of mammoth men. He might have been ten feet tall. He’d make Yao Ming look like a grasshopper. He’d make Shaq quake in his hi-tops. He’d not only win the Strongest Man Contest, he’d own it.

Its likely that Goliath fought with weapons that would dwarf David. Imagine a sword as big as a telephone pole. A shield the size of a wall. Metal that covered him from head to toe.

Here comes David, unprotected, short, and carrying a nifty little sling and five rocks. But David carried more than that.

David had the God of the Universe on His side. And compared to God, Goliath was just a grasshopper. He was a quivering fool. He was outmatched and outmaneuvered.

Here’s an important lesson for you as a young person. David didn’t accept the weapons and armor that Saul offered him. Logically they would have been much better for the fight than a slingshot. But David knew that he couldn’t fight with Saul’s armor. He had to fight with what God had given him.

What has God given you? Many teens want to be somebody else. They want to fight their battles with other people’s armor. But if you do that, God won’t fight for you. He wants you to be you, with your unique package of gifts and talents. Be yourself. Pursue the dreams God has given you—not the dreams He has for somebody else.

I wish I had learned this lesson earlier in life. It would have eliminated years of pursuing dreams and talents I had no business pursuing.

Bring your slingshot and rocks to the fight and see what God will do through you.

I can guarantee you one thing. Giants will fall.