David knew his skill. David knew his aim and the power of a stone in a sling. But when he goes before Saul, he doesn’t mention those things, just that he had struck down lions and bears, and more importantly, he gives credit to God, saying that it was the Lord who delivered him from the lion and the bear and states his faith that God will deliver him again.

Even if David knew his skill and his ability to kill a lion and bear with a stone, it would still take courage to face Goliath. We all know that a past faith victory doesn’t guarantee victory when we face our next battle. We need continued faith in the Lord, not faith in what we did before.

David picks up five stones. He doesn’t know the Lord is going to allow the first stone to kill Goliath. He doesn’t know what amount of endurance the battle is going to entail. The Lord sets up a quick and easy victory for David, maybe to elevate him in the eyes of the army.

Defeating Goliath was the easy part. We don’t always see the battle for what it really is. Goliath looked like the big scary obstacle. It was Saul that was going to be the real battle. Defeating Goliath moved him towards God’s purpose for David of becoming king, but it also set up the next big battle in David’s life, Saul’s jealousy.

In our journey with God and fulfilling His will for our lives, we don’t just go from point A to point B. There’s a journey, and it’s for our good.

Let me jump to the gospels for a moment. When you read the story of Jesus walking on the water in the gospel of John, it says that they struggled rowing for hours and then once Jesus got in the boat, it immediately arrived at its destination on the other side once Jesus got in the boat.

They didn’t have to row. God didn’t need them to row. God didn’t need their work and effort. It wasn’t for God. It was for the disciples. They were the ones who needed to work. They were the ones who needed the struggle.

God wasn’t out to make them struggle. They needed to see the stark discrepancy between their futile efforts and God’s simple provision when they would allow Him to do the work. God takes us on our journey from point A to point B because we need it. Yes, He could just plop us down at point B, but it wouldn’t be what was best for us. He’s always works for our good. Thank God for the journey. Praise the God who does ALL things well.