The Lord leads His people into spiritual conflict with weapons of warfare that seem insignificant and ineffective in natural battles. Those weapons will be dismissed because they seem insignificant when faced with the spiritual giants of the culture.

The story of David and Goliath is so familiar to us that we can read over it and miss the hidden gems of truth that are embedded within the story. Those truths will set us free from fear to meet head-on what is coming against us.

The giant Goliath was huge, as was his armament and weapons. “He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze coat of mail weighed 125 pounds. He also wore bronze leg armor, and he carried a bronze javelin on his shoulder. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed 15 pounds. His armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a shield” (1 Samuel 17:5-7).

For 40 days, twice a day, Goliath would come out strutting before Israel, daring them to send a man to fight him. In the terror that had paralyzed Israel, not one took up the challenge.

When David saw this daily spectacle, he asked, “Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?” (vs. 26). When David’s older brother saw that he had arrived on the battlefield and dared to speak, he condemned David by saying, “I know about your pride and deceit. You just want to see the battle!” (vs. 28). I would add, “What battle?” At this point, the standoff had lasted 40 days with no relief in sight. That was true until David arrived.

After David had convinced Saul to allow him to fight Goliath, Saul handed David his armor and sword. “David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. ‘I can’t go in these'” (vs. 39).

So, David took them off and picked up five smooth stones and ran toward Goliath, declaring, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head” (vs. 45-46). David’s small and seemingly insignificant-looking weapon had been empowered by the name of the Lord. It was at that point that the outcome of the battle changed.

David’s victory over Goliath came because he used an unexpected weapon empowered and directed by the Lord’s name. He refused to let Goliath’s armament cause him to live in fear along with the rest of the Israelites. He also refused the offer of Saul’s own armor because David knew they would not work. He only used what was proven to him over time – a sling and a stone empowered by the name of God.

Many in the Church today are looking for the next form of spiritual armament and weaponry to fight hell’s mockery of God and His Kingdom. If David had tried to use Saul’s armor and his sword, the story would have had a different ending. The same holds true for us today.

After David defeated Goliath, “David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he stored the man’s armor in his own tent” (vs. 54). As a point of personal speculation, I believe David kept Goliath’s armor in his own tent as a reminder to him that in future conflicts that he would lead, what the enemy would try to use to create fear in his decison-making process would have no power over him if he refused to listen to hell’s arrogant displays of superiority that were an attempt to instill terror in him and in God’s people. David came in the name of the Lord. That was his greatest weapon.