“Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!””(1Sam 17:32-37).

David was so convinced of the unchanging nature of God’s character, that he declared the outcome of his fight with Goliath before it ever happened. Such a deep-seated assurance in the faithfulness of God only comes from the crucible of hard-earned experience. Yes, David was a man after God’s own heart, but he still needed to manifest the indisputable proof of that fact through experience and testimony. Faith untested is unproven. For this reason, the Bible says, “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” (1Pet 1:7). Accordingly, David’s faith proved genuine and grew stronger with each potentially dangerous encounter he had with the wild beasts. We rise through the ranks in God’s army, as we successfully withstand trials. David would not have had the convincing testimony of his triumph over the beasts to present to Saul, if he had skipped that part of his preparation. Like David, we need to let God take us through the process of preparation as He deems necessary. We can rest assured that God will never lead us through an unnecessary route to His destiny for us.
   
The necessity of a good hindsight for a good foresight cannot be overemphasised. Often, we lack insight into the future because we fail to look back at the marvelous things God did for us in the past (which are glimpses of His plans for our future), in order to draw encouragement and strength for the future. Thank God David did not do that. Rather, he emphasized that, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1Sam 17:36). How could he have spoken with such confidence — without having second guessed himself, even for a moment? David spoke with  confidence, born out of the revelation of God’s faithfulness he had, that had led to victorious experiences in the past. God never reveals Himself to us in order to entertain us, but to transform us. God wants each one of us to have  personal experiences with Him, that will produce a rock-solid basis for his or her conviction in His faithfulness. This is why it is a loss of opportunity for anyone to receive a revelation from God without acting on it and letting it change his or her mindset completely. Every time we pass up such an opportunity, we unfortunately forfeit a breakthrough and therefore remain in a position we should have outgrown.

Promotion is not necessarily something you pursue, but something you attract by the person you become. David did not pursue the title of a “giant killer.” In fact, he was at the scene of the battle between Israel and Philistine only because his father had sent him there on an errand. However, he became a giant killer before the day was over. How mysterious are the ways of God! We should, however, note that David’s readiness to take on Goliath was the culmination of a long process of preparation. He was able to recognise an opportunity in a seemingly difficult and embarrassing situation, because he had faithfully undergone his preparation for that moment. Shalom.