David, Do Your Homework!

I was listening to a sermon podcast today (I love podcasts!) and the speaker said something that gave me an Aha! moment. Actually, it was more like a Wow! moment. You know, like when you hear the same scripture for the fortieth time that you finally get what it means. He said something about the courage of a fifteen year old boy to run at a giant. Now, how many times have YOU heard the story of David and Goliath? Me too. But today I was caught by the age element. Fifteen years old! I've raised a fifteen year old. I know what it's like to have a teenage boy in the house. I've known that David was a "youth", but until I heard fifteen year old, I didn't relate him to anyone I knew. Suddenly I had visions of my son out on the battlefield, alone. Tall, blond, curly hair, just like you'd picture David. Suddenly, David became real in my life. (It just occurred to me how real this is now. My son is now in the Navy.)

The people in Bible stories can seem so distant. Even though they were real people, they seem to be storybook characters. I played a game with myself to try to make the stories more real. I pictured people that I know playing lead roles in some stories. The easiest one was my sister Deborah playing Deborah. She did a great job. It did help me remember that these were real people. What if YOU were called on to lead the country in battle against an enemy army. Could you play Gideon? How about Ruth or Nehemiah?

But that's just a game. Get real now. You could be called on to do something amazing today. God hasn't changed. He did some wild things in the Bible. Chances are that He's still open to doing wild things today. And as believers, we have the Holy Spirit backing us up to do the impossible. Jesus said we would do greater things than He did. Wow! Bring it on! Are you ready? This could get really fun.