David and Goliath

The Israelites were at war with a people called the Philistines. Every single day, a giant soldier named Goliath would come out and shout across the battlefield. He was over nine feet tall — taller than two of your parents stacked up! He wore heavy armor and carried a huge spear. His voice boomed like thunder: 'Send someone to fight me! If your man wins, we will be your slaves. But if I win, YOU will be OUR slaves!' Every Israelite soldier trembled with fear. No one dared to fight him.

Then a young shepherd boy named David came to bring food to his brothers in the army. David was not a soldier — he was probably a teenager, small and thin. When he heard Goliath mocking God's people, David was not afraid. He was ANGRY. He said, 'Who is this Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?' David told King Saul he would fight the giant. Saul tried to dress David in armor, but it was way too big. David took it off.

Instead, David went to the stream and picked up five smooth stones. He had his sling — a simple tool he used to protect his sheep from lions and bears. He walked out to face the giant. Goliath looked at this little shepherd boy and laughed. 'Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?' he roared. But David shouted back: 'You come against me with sword and spear, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty!'

David put a stone in his sling, swung it around, and — CRACK! The stone hit Goliath right in the forehead. The giant crashed to the ground like a falling tree. The Philistines ran away in terror. All of Israel cheered!

David did not win because he was big or strong or had the best weapons. He won because he trusted in God. He knew that the battle belonged to the Lord. When we face things that seem way too big for us, we can remember David and trust that God is bigger than any giant.