What's In Your Hand?

Picture this. It was a heated battle in the Valley of Elah. There is a giant taunting an entire army, a giant that paralyzed everybody in fear. Then there is a king, a king who is sitting on the throne, but somehow is not fighting the giant himself. And there's a boy who is brave enough to step into the battlefield. 

See that boy heard voices, of how he could not do it, from the giant that mocked him, and the people that did not believe in him and a king that tried to change him. "Wear this instead," the king says. The shepherd boy, who was anointed behind the scenes, who fought battles secretly, and celebrated victories by himself, in obedience tried the king's armor. A little step to the left, another step to the right; it was not long before he realized, "Well, this does not fit." 

So knowing who he was, and confident in how he was trained, he remembered and encouraged himself, knowing that he already defeated the bears and the lions. He picked up the things he used every day that prepared him to become king. A staff in one hand, he walked to the brook and picked five smooth stones, he placed them in his shepherd bag and with his slingshot charged towards the giant. 

And the giant, he screamed louder and taunted more. But this young boy, resolute in who he is, and confidence in the God that He believes, with great boldness, reached inside his bag, and now in his hand was one smooth stone, ONE SMOOTH STONE - ENOUGH TO SLAY A GIANT.

Discharged from the shepherd boy's slingshot, the stone sank deep into the giant's forehead, and down goes Goliath. 

Now the army that once felt defeated roars in applause for the one who would be soon crowned their king. The doubters are now believers, and the voice of the giant no more to be heard, forever silenced in one momentous defeat. And the sword that was meant to kill this shepherd boy is now used to cut the giant's head. Now, the boy that used to be nobody is poised to lead an army and rule as king. 

You see, the whole world knows this story. But the truth is, this can be your reality. The training, the equipping, the identity, the taunting, the battlefield, the voices of doubt from without and within, fear, the insecure king, the dictates of the world, and the superimposition on your identity. There is nothing different. 

But like the shepherd boy, who we know as David, the king, the warrior, and the man after God's own heart, you need a moment of clarity. 

Identity matters, because if you do not fasten yourself in the truth of who you are, who you are created to be and the things you are called to do, the world will re-write and dictate that story for you. 

You see, we all have it. We all have the  "Valley of Elah" experience. It's tailor-made for you, so you can rise, lead, and be strengthened in your identity. Don't look to the king, and his armor won't fit. Instead, reach down deep inside your bag, what do you see? Before you charge, close your eyes, think, breathe, now before you slay Goliath, what's in your hand? What is it, that is already in you, deeply ingrained in your identity, etched in your experiences, ease when you operate in it? Identify them, use them, cultivate them, grow in them, lead with it. 

Don't waste your staff because it's not a sword. Don't waste the shepherd bag because it is not an armor. Do not waste your sling and stone because it is not a shield. David may have killed Goliath with a stone and a slingshot, but David's army men later killed other giants with their own swords and in their own way. 

Whatever it is you have, use it and be strengthened in it, and let's go slay some giants. The battlefield is calling, and the call has a name, your name.

All lights are up; it's your time to shine, ARE YOU READY TO SLAY GOLIATH?