David Chapter One: The Confidence of Faith

David grew up in we would call a large family today, although it would be medium at best in his time. Growing up with seven brothers all older than him, and two sisters quite probably also older than him, I find the boldness he exhibited later in life a little strange.

When he was talking to Saul about his exploits in the wilderness, one begins to wonder where that kind of audacity came from. This audacity was amplified when he was anointed king and followed him throughout his life.

Reading through the books that chronicled David’s life (1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st Kings, and 1st Chronicles), and what would pass as his personal diary (Psalms), a picture of the man appears.

David was a pretty handsome young man. The kind you look at and be certain he would be unable to lift a piece of wood to save his life. And probably David was like that naturally. But his exploits tell a different story. A young boy all alone in the wilderness going after a bear and a lion is either confident in his ability to win, or stupid. And David was not stupid. This tells me that from a young age, the boy had an absolute unshakeable trust in God. He knew that no matter what and no matter who, God had his back.

This absolute confidence is seen again when he challenged Goliath. He was outraged because he knew the strength of the God Goliath was mocking. It didn’t make any sense to him at all. When talking to Saul, he talked about defeating Goliath like it was already a done deal. Which it apparently was.

This crazy confidence followed him to adulthood and apparently infected folks around him. The bible talks of David and his men looking at impossible odds in the face and charging in headlong. And they always won. No matter where, no matter the opponent, David never lost a battle.

I think this is something we should copy today. We fight many battles on different fronts, against seemingly impossible odds sometimes. If we were to go into these battles with absolute and unshakeable confidence in God, knowing that no matter what, He has our backs, our lives would be easier.

Of course, this is not an easy thing to do. When we read the Psalms of David, we can feel his pain, anguish, and seeming hopelessness many times. He felt fear, he was worried, but when confronted with enemies that were too strong for him, he knew that he had a God that was too strong for them.

This absolute confidence of David can be translated into what we call faith today. David had grown up hearing of the exploits of God for Israel, and his actions against their enemies. This was the seed that birthed his faith. And this faith increased every time God came through for him until it became a way of life.

These exploits are everywhere in the scriptures for us today. They can be the seed that births our David-like confidence. That seed can bloom into a faith that charges at odds that seem insurmountable, and come out the winner.

David had the stories of the first five books of the old testament to get him started on this path. We have the whole bible, and most importantly, we have eternal life on our side. The odds are stacked in or favour.

If you do not have this eternal life that gives us the edge, this life that was given to us when Jesus died and resurrected, you’re missing out on a massive edge. It’s the vital ingredient to winning. It’s free of charge and very simple to get. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and that’s it. You’re in on this massive boost. And now, you can go out charging against the odds, because you’ve got eternal life.

Have fun pounding the odds to dust.