The Right Armor

1 Samuel 17:38-39: So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them, so David took them off. (NKJV)

Can you picture young David as he tried to walk around clothed in King Saul’s heavy armor?  Why, he couldn’t get to his trusty slingshot or the stones in his shepherd’s pouch! He knew these weapons worked because he’d used them to kill wild animals.

According to 1 Samuel 17:4, Goliath, the Philistine giant, was probably about 9 feet, 9 inches tall. As he paraded himself, ranting and raving against King Saul’s army, everyone had taken cover–that is everyone except the young shepherd boy who had arrived late upon the scene when he came to bring food to his brothers. Young David was fearless, confident that he could kill this tyrant, just as he had killed a lion and a bear. After all, it was a similar principle. The lion and bear were coming after David’s sheep, but this giant was taunting and defying the army of the living God (see 1 Samuel 17:45).

Despite his youth, David knew that he couldn’t defeat Goliath clothed in Saul’s armor. So he took off the armor King Saul had given him, and armed only with five smooth stones and a slingshot, he ran toward the Philistines and Goliath. It took only one stone, hurled from his sling in the name of the Lord he served, to slay the arrogant giant because David knew the battle was the Lord’s. Yes, David could only be David, but with his total dependence upon God, it was more than enough.

It would have been easy for David to put his faith in Saul’s armor instead of in the Lord, but he knew what had worked for him the past. He was no novice in trusting God, and he had already proved that, even as a young shepherd protecting his sheep.

Just as God had been preparing David for greater service, He also works to prepare each Christian. At our physical birth, He gives each of us natural abilities, and at our spiritual rebirth, He gives us at least one spiritual gift to go with those natural abilities (1 Corinthians 12) . Even more awesome, also at our spiritual rebirth, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our heart. With His entrance comes His strength which is fully sufficient to compensate for any of our weaknesses. As we progress in our walk of faith, He presents us with situation after situation to learn to use what He has given us and to put our trust in Him.

Like David, we have all we need to fight whatever the battle may be as long as we put our trust in the Lord–not ourselves, not man, not our circumstances, etc. If we submit all that God has given us to Him, even our weaknesses can become our greatest strength because His strength is made perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9).

Have you ever sensed the Lord calling you to do something that you felt totally inadequate to do? At one particular time in my life, I felt God leading me into a ministry that seemed to require a set of skills and spiritual gifts that I did not remotely possess. I’m not proud to say that it took a while and almost a sign from heaven for me to get on board with His plan. I remember telling Him one morning, “Lord, you know I’m not a good speaker.” Out of nowhere came His reply: “Neither was Moses.” (Sometimes you just know it’s the Lord.)

For once, I finally stepped completely out of my comfort zone and obeyed. I submitted all that I had in the areas of natural abilities and spiritual gifts to the Lord and trusted Him to supply everything I lacked in any other way. I learned that even my Achilles’ Heel can become my greatest strength because gone was the tendency to put my trust in anything other than His strength. The greatest thing about trusting the Lord in our weakness is that He gets all the glory.

Was it a constant struggle? Yes. Did Satan try to derail my confidence at every turn? Yes. Did I always get everything right? No way. Did the Lord give me all that I needed? In everything He supplied all my needs “according to His riches in glory” just as Philippians 4:19 promises. Was it a faith-building experience? It was definitely one of the most faith-building experiences of my life.

So many others were involved in that ministry–others who were in my eyes far more qualified and equipped than I could ever hope to be. But God hadn’t entrusted me with their natural abilities, their spiritual gifts, or their strengths. Like David, I would have been very uncomfortable trying to do the work the Lord was calling me to do if I was dressed in someone else’s armor. I could only be me–fitted with what God had given me, and though it wasn’t a slingshot and some small stones, and though I didn’t slay any physical giants, it was just what I needed to step into one of the greatest blessings I have ever experienced. The most amazing thing is how He used everyone there in different ways, yet we all came together as one in the Lord to accomplish His purpose..

Maybe today finds you struggling with a decision regarding something you feel God calling you to do. Perhaps, like me, it is something completely foreign to your way of thinking and you feel ill-equipped for the job. Stepping out of our comfort zone is never easy. All I can say is that if He did this in my life, He can do it in yours. All it requires is taking the matter to Him in prayer, fully submitted to doing His will for His glory, no matter what answer He gives you. If you submit all that He has given you to Him, fully depending upon Him to be your strength even in your weakest areas, you will get your answer.

God knows everything about you, down to the number of hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7), and He will never ask you to do anything that He won’t equip you to do. He knows you can only be you. But if you will fully trust in His strength for the victory, like David, I believe you will find that you will have more than enough to do whatever He’s calling you to do.