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    Jun 21, 2015

    Well Equipped Nonetheless

    Well Equipped Nonetheless

    Passage: 1 Samuel 17:1-48

    Speaker: Rev. Vivian McCarthy, Pastor

    Category: Faith

    On Mother’s Day, I began the sermon by saying this:  parenting is not for the faint of heart.  I think there were even a few audible “amens” to that.  Today is Father’s Day, and I want to begin the sermon by saying:  parenting is not for the faint of heart, and I couldn’t resist the story of David and Goliath for today!

    Parenting in the 21st century can feel like Goliath is standing right in front of you, breathing fire and threatening to take you and your whole world out.  Who could possibly stand in the face of such threatening odds?  Sex, drugs, violence, cutting, disrespect, steep competition for jobs and schools, schedules that are totally out of control, dangers from social media, mental illnesses such as depression, the aftermath of divorce – the list goes on and on.  (Image credit:  Google)

    I hear parents lament that they are just not prepared to help their children face the challenges that seem to have grown to… well to Goliath-like proportions.

    Before I go too far down this road, I want to say that we have wonderful kids in this community and in our faith family.  They work hard, they do everything they can to be faithful to God.  They reach out to others.  We have many families who live their faith with their children and help them understand and practice the Way of Jesus.  We live in a time when there is a lot “out there” that makes all of that very difficult.

    So let’s see what David had and did – and why he was successful at facing the Giant.

    First, he was well-equipped and he knew it.  Notice that the king tried to dress David in someone else’s equipment.  Larry Patten put it this way: 

    David dressed in Saul’s battle gear, but he’d never felt a bronze helmet jam against his head with the weight of two anvils, or had a cumbersome, razor-sharp sword strapped to his waist. Swaddled in armor that more trapped than protected him, David could barely move or think. His rapid, anxious breathing probably sounded like Star Wars’ future, fictional Darth Vader.  (Image:  LarryPatten.com)

    I wonder what David thought in that metal cocoon of false protection? Did he continue to have heroic thoughts, or did his once brave words feel like bile rising in his mouth? I imagine he was momentarily grateful for the suffocating helmet. It disguised his teary eyes and trembling lips.[1] 

    David simply took off Saul’s armor and used the equipment that he knew best.

    Not only was he equipped, but David had experience – and that helped him to know what equipment he really needed.  He had been in the fields for days at a time – alone.  He had learned how to handle threats to the herd, and he had done so – who knows how many times?

    And while he kept watch over the herd, David was alone with God – God whose presence and love David had experienced throughout his life.  David knew it was God who had chosen him for this particular task, and in those long days and nights, David contemplated what it meant to be chosen by God for his work – to do God’s will and follow God’s path.

    As I read Larry Patten’s description of David dressed in Saul’s battle gear, I thought about parents, and especially about dads.  Parents tend to put on or carry around a lot of equipment in order to be a great parent.  Coaches’ and referee uniforms, filling the van or the SUV with bikes and camping equipment and instrument cases and backpacks and lunch and dinner and on and on and on.  Many times that involves lists and detailed planning to rival the building of a mammoth bridge over the Chesapeake! 

    Have you ever felt trapped by your battle gear?  Ever felt like the way others advise you to parent is a cocoon of false protection? 

    I wonder if you have just as intentionally equipped yourself by finding yourself in God, learning what God intends for you and where God is leading you.

    David was small, and to the eyes of every warrior in that field, he was definitely gonna lose this one!  But, here’s what David knew:

    • Be myself. Don’t try to be Saul any more than I can wear his battle gear.
    • Success God’s way is not going to be won by the usual methods of power, might, technology or clever human strategy. Remember David’s question when he arrived in the camp?  “Who is this Philistine that he should defy the armies of God?”
    • Howard Wallace, a biblical scholar, put the last point best. He said:
      • …whatever we do as the Lord’s people is only by virtue of his presence with us. All true assessment of strength, value, and of what or who is right, is not measured by the standards of this world, its structures, and its ways, but rather by what pertains to God.
      • David’s focus was on God – not on his own prowess. His strength truly came from his relationship with God.

    Equipment.  Passion for God’s ways.  Focus on God.  David had what it takes to be a godly leader.  Parents - dads, even in the face of the Goliath-like challenges, you, too, have got what it takes. 

    [1] From a Blog by Larry Patten found at http://www.larrypatten.com/2015/06/09/five-smooth-stones/