I Samuel 17:37 (KJV) Says, "David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee." I Samuel 17:46-47 (KJV) Says, "This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands." I Samuel 17:50 Says, "So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David."
In the above scripture David is proclaiming to Saul that he is capable of going one on one in battle with Goliath, a Philistine giant. Saul questions David reminding him he is just a youth, and has never seen battle whereas Goliath is a giant who is very experienced in fighting battles. In order to convince Saul that he can handle the task of slaying this giant, David tells him that as a shepherd he has faced a couple of serious battles of his own. David tells Saul that he has dealt with a bear that came upon his flock, and on another occasion a lion who attempted to slay one of his sheep. He explains to Saul that he has slain both a bear and a lion while serving as a shepherd, and therefore he is more than capable of slaying Goliath. David tells him that God delivered the bear and the lion into his hand. Saul then gives David the go ahead to fight Goliath, and he slays him with a sling and a stone.
It is of tremendous importance that we note that as David tells Saul that in the past he has slain both a bear and a lion, he gives God credit for it. He recognized that God delivered him out of the paw of the bear, and out of the paw of the lion. He recognized it at the time he was fighting these wild animals, and he did not fail to give God credit once again as he relayed the events to Saul. Prior to battle, as David stood facing Goliath he told him that the Lord would deliver him into his hand that very day.
David could have omitted from his story that God delivered the bear and lion into his hand, and gave him the strength to accomplish these feats. He could have taken all the credit and made himself out a hero. Can you imagine the hyped up story he could have told about slaying a lion, and repeating the performance by slaying a bear? He could have kept the fact that God was going to deliver Goliath into his hand to himself as well, and thereby received all the praise, when he came out victorious. He could have bragged, and lifted himself up as a mighty giant slayer. He could have told the story over and over encouraging others to celebrate all he had done, but instead being a righteous man he never failed on any of these occasions to give God the glory, and the credit for his accomplishments.
How many times has God rescued you when you needed Him? How many times has He guided you in the right direction, and come through for you when you needed Him? How many times has God met your needs, when you saw no way in the world to do so? Did you praise and thank Him? Did you give Him the glory for what he had done for you? Did you give God the praise? We should never fail to give God the glory for all He does for us, and for all He helps us to accomplish. We should desire to do so because we love Him, because it is the right thing to do, because we are grateful, and because it serves as a great testimony to His almighty power. If David had failed to give God credit for what he accomplished with the bear and the lion, the end result may have been different when he faced Goliath.
If you have a prayer request and would like me to pray for you, leave me a message and I will be more than happy to do so. May God bless you.
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