Kingdom & Culture
"Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine." — 1 Samuel 17:40
Everyone loves stories of the underdog coming out on top. There is nothing quite as exhilarating as watching your favourite sports team light it up in the fading moments of the game only to make a comeback and take the victory.
Everyone knows the tale of David and Goliath. It is such a well-known story that it is used countless times by sports teams and corporations to inspire their people to surmount impossible odds. But one part of the story that is often missed is the preparation that David had in the years of his life leading up to that moment he faced Goliath.
David was a shepherd boy and spent much of his adolescent life looking after his father's sheep in the wilderness. Much like the athlete who pushes himself to the point of breaking in practice, David honed in on his relationship with God and developed the kind of trust that helped him as a young shepherd boy to defeat both a lion and a bear in defence of his father's sheep.
In Canada over the past two decades I have witnessed some of the greatest prayer and worship movements in Canadian history. As I consider this moment in which we live where so much prayer and worship has gone up before the Throne of God, I found myself wondering: why is it that as prayer and worship has increased, have we seen Canadian society seemingly slip into greater and greater darkness?
The answer came quickly as the Holy Spirit began to highlight the verse above from 1 Samuel 17. Both in David's life and the lives of our favourite sports teams it isn't just the preparation that matters but it's the ability to rally in the moment and take action that made the difference. We don't see David taking a knee and praying in that moment he met Goliath. It was his action of walking down that hill to the river's edge and picking up those five smooth stones and walking out to face his giant that brought defeat to Goliath and victory to Israel that day.
Preparation is important, but taking the initiative to act in the moment is what secures the final victory. We are facing some of the most trying times we have ever faced in the Canadian church and I believe now is the time that God is looking for the Davids to arise, those who have been in the wilderness looking after their Father's sheep. These Davids need to take their place, walk down that proverbial hill to the river, pick up their five smooth stones, and take action against the giant facing the Canadian church. We must act.