We Are Not David
God's Strength Is the Story
By Paul Scribner, CEO, General Holdings Limited and Raven Resources Corp.
With Kelly Delp, Chief Communications Officer, Raven Resources Corp.
The shepherd boy stood before a giant while an entire army cowered in fear. He had no armor, no military training, no sword, yet he stepped forward anyway. This simple fact reveals a profound truth: God's desire to demonstrate His power is so great that He once used five smooth stones to prove that victory belongs to Him alone. The moment we realize we are the trembling army, not David, is when we stop trying to manufacture our own courage and start trusting in the strength He provides.
When we read biblical narratives, we instinctively cast ourselves as the heroes. We want to be David facing Goliath, Moses parting the Red Sea, or Daniel surviving the lions' den. We crave the starring role in stories of faith and triumph. But this impulse reveals our fundamental misunderstanding of Scripture's message: we are not the heroes of these stories. God is the hero.
In the story of David and Goliath, it is natural to picture ourselves as the brave shepherd boy, divinely confident, stepping forward when others step back. We imagine ourselves as the one chosen for greatness, the unlikely champion who silences the mocker with a single stone. The uncomfortable truth is that we are far more like the armies of Israel than we would like to admit.
God did not empower David to showcase the shepherd boy's faith. He empowered David to showcase His own faithfulness.
For forty days, the armies of Israel had listened to Goliath's taunts. These were experienced warriors, trained soldiers, men who had seen battle. Yet they trembled before the giant's voice, paralyzed by fear, convinced of their own inadequacy. By every measure, they were equipped for war, but they were not equipped for this war. Yet God raised up David not to showcase the boy's bravery or condemn the army's cowardice, but to demonstrate that victory belongs to the Lord of hosts.
The heart of David's message was simple: "The battle is the Lord's." It was not elaborate strategy, impressive weaponry, or overwhelming numbers. Behind his confidence lay a deeper truth: the very fact that God allowed this confrontation was proof of His intention to deliver. If defeat was inevitable, there would have been no shepherd boy, only surrender.
This divine strength that felled Goliath echoes across the story of God's people. In Judaism, the Shema declares that the Lord is One: singular, supreme, unrivaled by any earthly power. In Islam, the concept of Tawhid affirms God's absolute sovereignty over all creation. In Christianity, the resurrection demonstrates that God's power exceeds even death itself. The story of David reminds all who follow the God of Abraham that His strength is not limited by our weakness, our fear, or our circumstances.
The army watched as the giant fell, their shame transformed into celebration by another's victory. The final verses show the Philistines fleeing while Israel pursued, revealing the contrast between human paralysis and divine power. God's triumph through David proved His concern not just for one boy's faith, but for an entire nation that had forgotten His might.
Here lies the story's revolutionary truth: we want to be David, the anointed one, the giant-killer who steps forward in faith. We want to be the shepherd, the chosen, the hero. But we are not David. We are the trembling army, the fearful witnesses, the ones who forgot that our God is bigger than our giants. We are the ones who needed the demonstration, who required the reminder, who stood paralyzed until strength came from an unexpected source.
David's story is not ultimately about human courage or divine calling, but about the God who fights for His people. His power to save far outweighs our capacity to fail. His plan to demonstrate His glory will not be stopped by our fear. We are the army: afraid, overwhelmed, given a front-row seat to witness deliverance not to prove the shepherd boy mighty, but to prove our God faithful.
In every biblical narrative, we search for ourselves in the wrong places. We are not Moses; we are the Israelites trapped between Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea. We are not Daniel; we are the people watching from their windows as he walks unharmed among the lions. We are not the wise men; we are the ones who need to be led to where Jesus is. We are not the heroes of these stories; we are the ones who need rescuing. And that is exactly where God's power is perfected in weakness.
About the Authors
Paul Scribner is a corporate leader and communicator with over two decades of experience in global finance, strategic investment, and organizational leadership. He writes on leadership, faith, and the lessons found in both successes and failures.
Kelly Delp is a communications strategist and writer with a background in storytelling, non-profit leadership, and organizational culture. She partners with leaders to craft clear, compelling narratives that inspire trust and action.