We started a new sermon series this past Sunday regarding Humble Confidence. Humility and confidence are not things that we often put together.
David exemplified humble confidence. The main point from David and Goliath was not that you can overcome every obstacle and enemy no matter how small you are. The point is that God saves and gives victory through those who are weak and humbly dependent upon Him. David did not defeat Goliath because he was incredibly skilled with the sling. David didn’t win the battle because he was more courageous than anyone else. God used David’s skill and rewarded his faith. However, God used David to show that it is the LORD that saves. He used the youngest, least skilled, and likely weakest person on that battlefield to defeat the greatest warrior any of them had seen. This was to show that the battle is the LORD’s, and He brought the victory through someone who was clearly outmatched. David made it clear that the LORD would win the victory. While David was physically weak compared to Goliath, he was spiritually strong in his confidence in the Lord.
Why was David so confident? He was confident because he was standing up for the Lord. He took offense at the fact that Goliath was defying God. David was not standing up for himself; he was not out to prove he belonged. David was standing for the glory of God. He was not fighting for himself; he was fighting to honor God. He was zealous for God’s glory. He would later write these words in Psalm 69.9:
For zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the reproaches for those who reproach you have fallen on me.
If this passage sounds familiar, it is because this is the passage that is referenced in John 2.17 after Jesus cleared the money changers out of the temple. After His disciples saw Him toss tables, they remembered this Psalm. Jesus was also zealous for the Father’s glory. He would not stand by while God’s glory was demeaned. In the same way, David would not stand idly by while this Philistine continued to defy the Living God of Israel. David was humble because he was not thinking of himself when he went to face Goliath. He knew he was fighting for God’s glory and that the Lord would deliver him. Like Paul (Acts 20.24), he did not take his own life into account. He was not focused on his skill or lack thereof; he was not concerned with his reputation. He was merely taking a step of obedience. Therefore, he humbly and confidently stepped towards Goliath and did not cower in fear. He knew God would deliver him just as he had delivered him in the past. David believed what he said, “The battle is the LORD’s.” God used the most inexperienced and weak soldier in the camp that day to defeat Goliath. God takes glory in using what is weak to show His power and glory. When we humbly depend on Him, He can and will accomplish great things. As we go into 2024, may we be humbly confident in our God.