Memo 1124: A Hero
It's common for young people to hang pictures in their rooms of their favorite heroes. Some of them may be athletes or musicians, and others movie stars or fictional movie characters. In this week's lesson, I would like to recommend a biblical hero who every young person of faith should admire and wish to imitate. That hero is none other than David, the giant slayer, who some people estimate was about 17 years old when he made a name for himself in Israel.
In this week's lesson, we begin our study of David's well-known battle with Goliath. There are so many lessons for young people in this story, so we are going to take our time and go through them all as the Spirit of God leads us. Once David had made the commitment to fight Goliath, King Saul tried to talk him out of it. Here is David's response:
“Your Majesty,” David said, “I take care of my father's sheep. Any time a lion or a bear carries off a lamb, I go after it, attack it, and rescue the lamb. And if the lion or bear turns on me, I grab it by the throat and beat it to death. I have killed lions and bears, and I will do the same to this heathen Philistine, who has defied the army of the living God. The Lord has saved me from lions and bears; he will save me from this Philistine" (1 Samuel 17:34-37).
Why was David so confident he could defeat Goliath, the giant who everyone else in God's army was afraid to even approach? He was confident because of what he had already done in his young life. In other words, David had a testimony of how God had rescued and used him.
While protecting his father's sheep, David had faced lions and bears, and when he did, he grabbed them with his bare hands and beat them to death—on numerous occasions. It's interesting to me that David's father, Jesse, assigned such a dangerous job to his youngest boy, but he did and David proved that his father's trust was well placed. David the shepherd was fearless, so when he stood before the giant, he was ready to take him on and defeat him.
You may be young, but if you think of it, just like David, you already have a testimony that you can draw on for strength and courage today. Perhaps your family has gone through difficult times. Maybe your parents divorced or your family didn't have much money. You may have had to battle a sickness or some other physical challenge. Maybe you feel lonely or misunderstood and you wanted to give up on life and God. The good news is, however, that you made it through. God strengthened you and now you can be confident that God will help you today because of what He has done for you in the past.
Even though you are young, maybe you can write a book or music, or start a business, or pursue a career that seemed out of reach for you in the past. But if you have already trusted God and saw Him help you, then you can now trust Him to go to the best schools, to help you start and maintain your business, or even to start a ministry that will help others as you share your story of how God helped you.
Now you see why I say that David could be your new hero who can be a good role model for your life. Of course, David knew the secret of his success, for he said, "The Lord has saved me from lions and bears; he will save me from this Philistine." Just like David, God is with you, and therefore you also can do great things, no matter how young you are. I encourage you to be like David in your young life, and watch and see how God will use you to face and defeat the giants all around you that others, even if they are older than you, are afraid to face. And then maybe one day, someone will use you as their example of how to overcome something difficult to do great things for God at a young age. Have a blessed week!