Truth Told

Goliath was proud of his physical ability and equipment which was latest technology, and bragged about it. David was inferior in size to Goliath and had primitive equipment. David didn’t brag about his equipment, rather he bragged about “The Name of God”.

45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the LORD will conquer you,…

Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (1 Sa 17:45–46). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

This story means a great deal to me personally. Many years ago, 1976, I was at a personal crossroads in my life and career. I was in business as an equal partner with a friend named Saul. We had been in business together for 13 years. I was quite a bit younger than Saul, and in my thirties I had begun to find my own footing, or I could say I was desiring to go in a different direction with my life.

This was a devastating and life-changing decision because it would have a significant impact on my young family, not to mention the impact it would have on my partner Saul, and of course also on my own future, scary for sure. This idea and thought of making such a life-change was debilitating and deeply emotional. Being emotionally confused and not knowing how to move forward, I turned to open a Bible (which I hadn’t done for years up until then) and opened up to the following passage of scripture…

38 Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. 39 David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.
“I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. 40 He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.

Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (1 Sa 17:38–40). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

Need I say anymore, you can see the obvious relevance this scripture had for me, particularly with my partner’s name being Saul. The meaning was that I could no longer operate in Saul’s way but needed to find my own way forward. Despite having very humble beginnings of growing up in a small fishing village and starting out as a fisherman in a fishing family, yet I headed out into the large vast corporate world. I was going out to fight other kinds of giants than a Goliath. Those giants were things like; inferior complex, no relevant background, and having no previous connections. Paraphrasing here; Jesus said all things are possible with God.

There is much more about my story that I will share in future blogs. Probably, the most important part of my story for our message today is, like David I came to trust in God to lead me and bring me through this life-change. I wasn’t able to trust in a superior formal education because I didn’t have one. I couldn’t trust in family connections because we didn’t have any into corporate America. The only place I could put my trust was in God and in Him alone.

What obstacle are you facing in your life today that you need to place your trust in God for?

Larry Anderson