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PROGRAM D-7704
Are you a little weary because you keep trying to be like other people? Are you caught in the “copy-cat syndrome?” It’s very important for us to appreciate how God has gifted us, to know what God wants us to do, and then go forward without comparing ourselves to others or trying to be like other people.
God prepared David to kill a giant in a most unconventional way—using a slingshot. David was smart enough not to try to kill that giant by King Saul’s method, with armor and a sword. That would have been disaster. But he used his own slingshot and he was victorious.
Where are you now? In the fields, all alone, being prepared by God for what is coming? You see, David didn’t know, when he was tending sheep, that God was preparing him to be King. He had no idea. But he did that job well, and while he was doing it, God was quietly training him for great things. If you’re in the training fields right now, don’t blow that opportunity to develop your own gifts. You never know what God has planned for you just around the corner.
Maybe you’re on the battleground and Goliath is staring at you, taunting you. Are you tempted to fight in someone else’s armor? Remember, if God has brought you to that battlefield, he will use your gifts and abilities. He won’t ask you to be like someone else.
I’ve often heard great athletes talk about “staying within themselves.” That means they have to play the game using their strengths and not try to do it the way someone else does it. David knew how to “stay within himself” and not try to mimic others or be intimidated when others told him what he should do or how he should do it.
His brother told him to go home, but he didn’t listen. David knew that God had equipped him to be able to slay this giant, and he wasn’t afraid to try. It wasn’t a matter of pride or conceit; he just knew he had a skill from God that could defeat that giant.
When others tell you can’t do it, or they belittle you in some way, remember David. If he had allowed his brother’s remarks to get to him, he would have just gone back to the sheep and never defeated Goliath. But he was willing to step out even in the face of his brother’s protests and bad-mouthing.
If God has told you to use a slingshot, then use it. Don’t let the “Sauls” in your life dictate how you are to attack your giant, if you know God has given you directions. Many times well-meaning people will give us poor advice. Certainly Saul thought it would be best for David to wear all that armor, but David knew better.
