SAUL'S ARMOR
“And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine [Goliath].” (1 Samuel 17:38-40).
A dear lady that we fellowship with told us recently
about how her sisters would criticize and ridicule her after she became a
Christian. One sister in particular
would try to buy her clothes and take her to get her hair done at a beauty
parlor when she visited her because she didn’t like the way she looked. Our friend said, “She just wanted to fix me.” She said that she was content to be what God
made her to be and do what He had called her to do.
As I listened to our friend’s tale, I was reminded of
the story of David and Goliath. King Saul
was trying to do the same thing to David as our friend’s sister was trying to
do to her. Saul didn’t think that this
young shepherd boy could face the giant Goliath without a lot of “fixing.” There was a lot at stake here for Saul and
for the nation of Israel as a whole. If
they chose to send a warrior out to fight one-on-one with Goliath, then the
losing side was agreeing to serve the winning side from then on. If he was going to let David go, Saul wanted
to give him the best odds for success that he could. Armor was required, and Saul’s armor was the
best! It was kingly armor. The problem was that David had never fought
in armor – in fact, David had never been in battle before. The armor would have seemed restricting to
David’s movement, and it likely didn’t fit him properly for Saul was a tall
man.
God does not want us to conform ourselves to anybody
else’s standards except Christ’s, no matter how well those standards may work
for them. We must be what God has made
us to be. He wants to transform us into
the image of His dear Son. No other
pattern or standard will do. Jesus was
meek and lowly. He didn’t seek after
fortune or fame, but made Himself of no reputation. He made Himself a servant rather than a
master. Most of all, He laid down His
life to save the world – not just at Calvary, but He died daily to the flesh. Though
He was the Son of God, yet He learned obedience to the Father through the
things that He suffered in the flesh.
David’s “armor” was the things that he was used
to. The things that he had proven and found
effective against the dangers that he had already faced in his young life were
the things that he could trust in. The
Lord had strengthened him when he alone had faced a lion that threatened his
father’s sheep. With just his staff and
his sling, God had given him the strength to prevail. He had also faced a bear and single-handedly
defeated it in the Lord’s strength. His
armor was faith, righteousness, salvation, truth, and the Word of God. These were the things in which he trusted. These were the things that he knew would
work.
We, too, must trust in the things that God has given
us. Each of our gifts and ministries are
unique to us. “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him.” (1
Corinthians 12:18). Why would we want to
take what God has made, say it isn’t good enough, and try to make it into
something we think is better? God knows
what He is doing, and He often allows weaknesses in us so that His strength can be manifested in
us. After all, He has chosen the poor,
weak and foolish to confound the rich, mighty and wise (see 1 Corinthians
1:26-29). Also, He has placed His
treasure in earthen vessels (clay pots) so that the excellence of the power might
be of God and not of us (see 2 Corinthians 4:7).
David must have seemed ill-equipped indeed. With his shepherd’s coat worn from use and
exposure to the elements, a shepherd’s staff used to guide the sheep, a
shepherd’s scrip or pouch, and a sling, he didn’t look the part of a hero or
deliverer. The thing that set him apart
from every other warrior on that battlefield, however, was his courage, faith,
zeal for the LORD, and the indignation that he felt toward anyone who would
defy the living God.
I think of John the Baptist and what scripture says of
him. We’re told that “…the Word of God came unto John…in the
wilderness.” He didn’t go into the temple to preach this anointed Word that
he received from God, nor did he go to the synagogues. No, he went into the wilderness. Neither did he dress himself in finery to
attract the crowds, but he clothed himself with camel’s hair and with a girdle
made from an animal skin. His diet
wasn’t rich either – he ate locusts and wild honey. This man had power when he spoke, more than
all of the scribes, lawyers, scholars, Sadducees and Pharisees. We must learn who we are in Christ and be
content to be just that and nothing more, no matter who tries to fix us!
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in
the Lord, and in the power of His might.”
(Ephesians 6:10). It is the way of the
flesh to rely on one’s own strength, but our strength is powerless against the
kind of enemies that we face as Christians.
We must learn to depend on and trust in the power that is in Jesus
Christ our Lord. Our battles in life are
not against flesh and blood enemies.
They are, instead, spiritual adversaries. We are fighting against principalities, powers,
the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in
high (heavenly) places. Therefore, we
need to “Put on the whole armour of God,
that [we] may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11).
Paul
defines the spiritual armor that God has given to every believer in order to
fight the good fight of faith. He tells
us to “Stand therefore, having your loins
girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your
feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the
shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of
the wicked. And take the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto
with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” (Ephesians 6:14-18). There are many types of weaponry in the
world, some horrific in their destructive power; but none of them are of any
use in the spiritual warfare that we are fighting against the enemy of our
souls. I’m sure that Saul’s armor was
very fine, but it would have only hindered David from winning the victory that
God had already promised him.
I
recently watched a recording of Nick Vujicic giving a message at Cedarville University chapel. Nick is an Australian-American Christian
evangelist, world-renown motivational
speaker, and New York Times
Best Selling Author. He also has a
condition that is called tetra-amelia syndrome, which means he was born without arms
and legs. I was greatly moved by Nick’s
testimony when I first heard it a few decades ago. The first words out of his mouth that night
were, “I thank God that I am fearfully and wonderfully made!” Those words were powerful and anointed
because God had worked out in his heart a thankfulness and an understanding of
what He could do in a life that was surrendered to Him, regardless of what
obstacles might stand in his way. Despite
his seeming limitations, Nick’s message at Cedarville was powerful, dynamic,
and life-changing. Nick is an incredible
example of letting God use what He made you to be and not accepting any limits
that the world or the devil might try to put on you.
Joni Eareckson Tada was injured in a diving accident when she
was just a young girl and became a quadriplegic as a result. She, too, came to accept the Lord’s plan for
her life and embrace what He was able to do through her testimony. She is an artist, an author, a motivational
Christian speaker, and a vocalist.
Although it seemed like God had taken everything from her, He actually
was able to bring out all of the real spiritual gifts that He had given her
that may have remained dormant had she been able to pursue other things.
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