by - Michael Sitko
“…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…” I Sam 17:40;
Everyone loves stories of the underdog coming out on top. There is nothing quite as exhilarating as watching your favourite sports team lighting it up in the fading moments of the game only to make a comeback and take the victory.
Having played sports most of my life, as I sit and ponder this thought, I understand that it isn’t just the effort in the moment that makes the comeback possible but it was the blood, the sweat and the tears in practice and in preparation for that game that made the moment of that comeback a possibility.
Everyone knows the tale of David & 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 to secure victory or make that big deal. But one part of the story I think that is incredibly important and is often missed is the preparation that David had in the years of his life leading up to that moment that he faced Goliath.
David was a shepherd boy and spent much of his adolescent life looking after his fathers sheep in the wilderness. Caring for sheep can be a monotonous task with a lot of down time but David took that time to invest in his relationship with his God in times of worship and prayer. Much like the athlete that pushes himself to the point of breaking over and over in practice, David honed in on his relationship with God and in developing the kind of trust that helped him as a young shepherd boy to defeat both a lion and a bear in defence of his fathers sheep.
In Canada over the past two decades I have witnessed some of the greatest prayer and worship movements I believe in Canadian history. As a matter of fact I would argue that due to technology and the mediums of Zoom and other online tools, we’ve reached a place of unprecedented engagement in the areas of prayer and worship in Canada.
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 beginning to wonder, why is it that as prayer and worship has increased, have we seen Canadian society seemingly slip into greater and greater darkness? The answer to my question came quickly as the Holy Spirit began to highlight the verse above from 1 Samuel 17;
You see, 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 in David’s life. 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 rivers edge and picking up those five smooth stones and then 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 who have been in the wilderness looking after their Fathers sheep. These Davids need to take their place, walk down that proverbial hill to the river and pick up their five smooth stones and take action against the giant facing the Canadian church and all Canadian people. We must act. More to follow in part 2.