'Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine...', sound familiar? Dude was awesome, 'your servant will go and fight him.' Young and ready to do what he had been training to do - leading sheep, wrestling bears and lions, training. In speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity...set and example even in your youth. Those words from Paul to Timothy totally connect to David and his ability to move in the Lord at such a young age.
We know the Spirit was on David, that God had a plan for him to move into a role of leadership in Israel. We also know that the same Spirit that was in sheep-herding-King David is in us.
At this point David wasn't seeking out what other mighty warriors he could mimic in order to take on Goliath. He knew his strengths and weakness' so when Saul called for him he was ready to respond in a healthy way. When opportunity came he was comfortable with his capacity.
Ultimately Saul puts his own armor on David to send him in to battle. Seriously? Compared to Saul, David's a curly headed pygmy with a sling and some sheep. He was restricted, confined, unable to move about the way he had trained and knew he was capable of. He was being set up for success according to someone elses plan and purpose.
I absolutely admire what he did next. So simple and yet so bold. David stripped off the armor and left to fight using the skill set, vision and confidence that came from the Lord, not the mighty warrior and king Saul.
As a follower of Christ, empowered and designed by Him, who are you trying to be like that totally doesn't fit who you actually are. Yes, to grow we need to learn from all camps, from many sources beyond our own understanding and worldview...but our character doesn't change, our foundational qualities that are divinely handed down don't need to be thrown out right? Maybe revamped and reformatted but ignoring who you are or what your organization is designed to do in order to copy another 'more successful' can only lead to heart-ache and possibly sin either now or later.
Are you fighting in your strengths or someone elses? What Philistines are you trying to overcome with unnatural tools and style? Every warriors has his own skill set, what's yours?
Taken from 1 Samuel 17 and 1 Timothy 4:12