David is famous for his defeat of the giant Goliath. In the space of one day, he went from unknown shepherd boy to nationally renowned war hero. Just like that, unexpectedly, his life changed. Until this event David is that he was just like the rest of us—an average person living an average life. He had not spent years in the war academy of Israel, training as an elite warrior. He was just a normal person showing up for normal life, and one day normal life brought him an extraordinary opportunity.
Yet, we would be wrong if we thought David’s lack of military training meant he had no training at all. Normal life was, in fact, the training ground that uniquely prepared David to take down a giant no one else could. As the youngest son, David had received an unimportant job—watching over the sheep. It was a job with very little potential for promotion. Though David could have resented this assignment, it seems he instead embraced it patiently and gave it his all. In other words, he learned to serve, and he learned to be faithful with the mundane and inglorious tasks of life.
When the prophet Samuel visited David’s father, Jesse, to anoint the future king from among his sons, Jesse did not deem David important enough to have him present at the meeting. This is the position David held in his family. Even after Samuel anointed him as the future king of Israel, David was sent back to the sheep while his older brothers went off to war. Clearly, David was accustomed to serving unknowingly, by being faithful to his father’s bidding, David set himself up for his life-changing face-off with Goliath.
In David’s example we find this truth: Some of the greatest victories in life begin with being faithful in the small things not doing anything spectacular. Though these activities seemed unimportant, they were the seedbed for faithfulness. And from those seeds of faithfulness, destiny grew. In truth, by being faithful with what was in front of him, David was unknowingly marching toward his destiny. Before he could show up to his battle with the giant, David had to learn how to show up in the little things. He had to cultivate faithfulness.
David’s giant-killer instinct sprang up from his personal development in three key areas during his years as a shepherd. He cultivated a heart of purity, passion, honor, and obedience. He gave his hands to hard work, stewardship, and mastery of skills. And he built history with God by encountering Him and experiencing His promises. In other words, he learned to serve from love, not obligation; he learned to pour his heart into every task; and He learned to find his strength and purpose in his relationship with God. David’s diligence in daily life prepared him for the challenges of fighting Goliath and becoming king of Israel. David showed up.
Extracted and adapted from ebook Ch 1 ’Giant Slayers’ © 2017 by Leif Hetland