A new way?
There are many stories in the Bible. As a child growing up going to ‘Sunday school’ I was taught them, and I had a picture book Bible with colourful images of these ‘classic’ tales.
When I started working for the church (some 30 years ago) I led a school’s team and we acted out these stories to the delight of our young audience.
One of those famous stories is David and Goliath: the young shepherd boy who defeats the mighty ‘giant’ warrior by slinging a stone that hits him square in the face!
I re-read this story recently and this section caught my attention...
“Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armour on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. ‘I cannot go in these,’ he said to Saul, ‘because I am not used to them.’ So he took them off.”
Before David faced Goliath, King Saul dressed him for battle. He wanted to help David, and so prepared him in the usual way for any soldier, i.e. putting on the armour.
What stood out to me was that King Saul did not know that this encounter was going to be different. David was going into battle but God was fighting with Him.
This is a powerful metaphor for us. When we work with God, the way in which we do things change. As we emerge from lockdown, I sense there is a fresh need for us to call on God again. I feel like God has some new ways for us to work and also some new areas to work into.
There is great need and much to be done! There are plenty of opportunities and ‘battles’ that we all face now and, in the days, to come. Our old ways of doing things may now not work.
Therefore, it’s really important that we seek God earnestly, seeking to partner with Him like never before. Let’s be open and ready to do things God’s way and not ours!
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Stay safe & God bless
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader