The story of David and Goliath is a wonderful story of good over evil.
You may think the lesson learned from the story of David and Goliath is: You may be small and weak, like David, but if you use whatever insignificant pebbles you have, and trust God, you can defeat the giants in your life. God uses little things.
However, the actual the lesson is: God uses a prepared life. Success occurs when opportunity and preparation meet. Today’s preparation determines’ tomorrow’s achievement. Remember, the best preparation for tomorrow is hard work today.
David’s responsibilities at home prepared him to kill the giant, Goliath. You can read his story in 1 Samuel 17, especially verses 31-37.
Childhood is the preparation of adulthood. The key responsibility of parents is to prepare children for their future. Your job as a parent is to prepare your child for the next level of life. Our job as a parent is not to be liked. It is to help our children to become healthy, functioning adults. Wise parents prepare their children to get along without them.
David was the youngest of seven sons. As a young boy, David’s responsibility was to take care of his father’s sheep. This responsibility prepared him to conquer the giant, Goliath. His practice and success with a sling, gave him the confidence in God to win this fight.
The key to success is confidence. The key to confidence is preparation.
Like David’s dad, God needs parents who will prepare their children for the challenges of the future. An entire army stood for 40 days in fear as Goliath issued the challenge. Only young David had the confidence to accept the challenge. Why? Because his father and His God prepared him. His confidence was not in his ability alone. He confidence was in the Lord’s previous use of his ability. If God can use him to kill and bear and lion against his sheep, he certainly will use him to kill God’s enemy who is threatening God’s people.
The key to our children’s success will be their confidence in what God can do through them. We need to set before our children the challenge to trust God. Watch what God will do as we submit to Him. Lead our children to prove God’s faithfulness and power.
The best preparation for tomorrow is hard work today.
We do not know what the future holds. But God calls us to prepare with reasons only He knows. Day after day back in the sheepfold, David did the hard work of being a shepherd. Because he was diligent on the farm field, he was ready for the battle field. He trained for battle by the way he lived out his daily responsibilities.
As parents, we do not know the future of our world. We don’t know the temptations, nor the culture, our children will inherit. We may not be able to make this world a better place. But we can help our children become better.
We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can prepare our children for the future.
Let me talk a little bit to the teens and children. Whether you recognize it or not, you are in the preparation phase of your life. What you learn now, will determine how far you go in the future. Learn everything you can. The lessons will not be just what you learn in class or formal teaching. Some of the things you are learning are life lessons. You are learning what not to do. Gain some wisdom from the mistakes of others.
Let me talk to the grandparents and those without children in the home. If God has placed children in your sphere of influence, use that influence to prepare them for the future. It was my grandfather who taught me how to work. I watched my dad worked hard and he modeled it. But my grandfather ‘hired’ me and my cousins to work at his home in Kentucky. He gave us grown-up jobs and paid us meager salaries. He taught us how to work hard. You may not be able to have complete freedom to teach children life lessons, but you have a bigger influence than you realize. (See: 5 Things My Papaw Taught Me)
How did David’s responsibility as a young shepherd prepare him for the future? What are some lessons David learned at home as a shepherd that we can teach our children?
- Work. Shepherding is hard work.
- Duty. He took responsibility for what his chore demanded.
- Courage. He was willing to face a lion and bear.
- Compassion. He cared more for the lamb than his own life.
- Skill. Through practice, he a marksman with a sling.
- Trust. He trusted God to take care of him.
Let me tell you how God prepared me for what I am doing today.
In 1994 God led me to start Community Baptist Church in Dublin, Ohio. We set out with high hopes. We met in a motel and had a high attendance of 70 people for our church service. Every week we would bring in our equipment, set up for the church service, and take it down. We didn’t have an office or building, so I had to do all my work out of my apartment. But within a year I needed to get an outside job. Then two jobs, along with starting a church. Soon the attendance dwindled and we led the church family to start attending another church when I accepted the pastorate at Faith Baptist. I felt like a failure. Did I fail God? Did God not call me? Why didn’t God do something through me?
Within two years of coming to Faith Baptist, we had a church fire that completely destroyed the building. We began to rent space at a local school. Once I was without a building and had to transport some of the same equipment to the new building. All the lessons I learned at Community Baptist I was able to use at Faith Baptist. I learned that God will prepare you for your future.
Some of the hardest lessons you learn today will be used in your future. Learn the lessons from what you are going through now so you can use them later when you need them.