An Important Tool in Winning a Battle

Unmet hopes and dreams are often the sources of frustration and lack of fulfillment for many people. The account of the young shepherd boy David killing the giant Goliath is an incredible story of a seemingly insignificant individual going against a person who was a threat to the lives of the Israelites.

            Giants to most of us are not the same as what David was fighting. Rather, these colossal problems are generally in the form of possibly finding a job, keeping a job, living our lives to the fullest, jealousy, illness, relationships, or any enemy that threatens us in some way.

            How can we, as David did, slay these giants in our own lives? David showed an understanding of himself and made several wise decisions before going to war with the giant and over the next few weeks I will be covering these choices. Today we will look at why what he wore was important.

            When it was agreed that young David would fight the giant, this is what Saul did. 1^st Samuel 17: 38 and following: ³⁸ Then Saul clothed David in his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. 39 And David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” And David took them off. 40. And he took his stick (stick is called his staff in some versions) in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine. (New American Standard Bible)

            David, wisely realized that in order to beat the giant he had to confidently bring his strengths to the battle and to fight his way. Saul’s clothes would not work.

            Thinking about David’s choices took me back to an early time when I was trying to establish myself in the writing world.

 The friend I’d invited to the Christian Writer’s Group read her material and at the completion there was a time of discussion of her work along with praise and encouragement. Obviously, she had made a positive impression on the others assembled.

            It was my time to read next. Hoping that tonight’s reviews would be different, I’d polished my piece until there was nothing left to do. At the conclusion, however, as always, there were only a few lackluster comments before the group quickly moved on to the next person. Embarrassment, disappointment, discouragement as well as confusion filled my mind. Though I had felt the calling to write for years, my work was constantly rejected. 

            Refusing to give up, I continued believing that surely, one day, my writing would find its place. During a Writer’s Conference a judge and I sat down to talk about my book. Watching her struggle to say something hopeful and encouraging about what she had read caused me to finally hang it up. There was no more room for disappointment, but the question lingered: What happened?

             Much of the answer to the question of my failures in the writing world can be found in David’s story. Remember, David tried on Saul’s garments, but immediately realized he couldn’t successfully fight the battle in these clothes. David even said, “I cannot wear them because I am not used to them.” So, he took them off.

Thought:  Was David afraid to give the garments back? Would that seem as if he was being ungrateful or critical of Saul? Would Saul punish him?  Often, it’s frightening to walk your own path and be your own person, especially when there’s no cheering squad behind you. But David realized that no matter the outcome of his refusal, the only way to win the battle was to wear his own clothes.

It didn’t occur to me in those early years of writing where failure and disappointment reigned, that, inadvertently, I was wearing another’s cloak. My uncle was a successful author of works that were mainly psychological/theological in nature, and I assumed that because I also felt the call to write, I was to follow his path.

Around the time I gave up my dream of being an author, there was an unexpected experience, that led me into writing mysteries. It meant throwing off the chains of another’s calling and forging my own path. There have been mishaps along the way such as printing my first book Murder in a Small Town too soon, but that became an important learning tool in the perfecting of the craft. There have also been victories. My mystery, Chasing a Family Secret is competed and almost ready to go to print. Publishing these blog posts, have been an unexpected joy.

Unlike my uncle and many popular authors, my audience is smaller and the route to publishing different, but that’s okay because when the outcome is in His hands, the results can’t be measured.

While the scientific consensus is that the likelihood of two snowflakes being identical is zero, my suspicion is that the likelihood that two callings are the same is also zero.

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

1 Peter 5: 10

(New American Standard Bible)

Just as David, I could only embrace my special gift when I was willing to shuck the garments, calling, and expectations, of others.