Perhaps we rely too much on our training...

And David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth." But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God." And David said, "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the Lord be with you!"
1 Samuel 17:32-37 (ESV)

I can only imagine the excuses the many gave for not wanting to fight Goliath. No soldier was trained well enough or equipped to meet the daily challenge. Most likely, there was unanimity in believing they were all helpless victims without a workable plan.
Yet, David knew that knowing God trumps knowing how to fight, and he knew God. David learned dependence upon God from his childhood. He was put into situations that stretched him and forced him to rely on God.

Today, we shelter young people and perhaps rob them of opportunities to serve, trust, and demonstrate God's faithfulness. Like the soldiers in this historical account, they have learned a lifestyle of victimhood rather than victory.

Perhaps we rely too much on our training, logic, and plans, and not enough on our God, and have passed this defeatist mind frame on as our legacy.
 




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