King David, King Jesus, and Me? Pick Up the Stones

KING DAVID, KING JESUS, AND ME?

Pick Up the Stones

1 Samuel 17

"Taste and see that the LORD is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!"  —Psalm 34:8, CSB

Ask any child who has spent a single Sunday in children’s church to tell you a Bible story, and odds are good you’ll hear this one first: a shepherd boy, a giant, and five smooth stones. David and Goliath may be the most famous chapter in David’s whole life story — more famous, even, than his throne, his psalms, or his fall. And because it’s so familiar, it’s easy to let the fame flatten it into a simple story about being brave.

Look closer at 1 Samuel 17, though, and you’ll find a young man who won a battle he had no business winning — not because he was strong, but because of what he carried into it. He didn’t carry a sword. Saul offered David his own armor and blade, and David set them aside; he’d never tested them and they weren’t his to trust. What he carried instead was a shepherd’s staff, a sling, and five smooth stones pulled from a streambed. No armor. No weapon of war. Just stones, and everything those stones represented.

Goliath wasn’t the only giant David ever faced, either. Before that valley, there were a lion and a bear in the fields outside Bethlehem. After it, more giants rose — some in battle, some much closer to home, inside his own heart. David’s life reads like one long string of giants. What carried him through wasn’t a single lucky throw. It was a pattern: five things he picked up, again and again, long before he ever picked up a stone.

Those same five things are still sitting on the ground, waiting for you. Whatever giant is currently blocking your road — a diagnosis, a marriage, a debt, a besetting sin, a fear you haven’t said out loud — David’s stones are within reach.

The Stone of the Past

When Saul told David he was too young and too inexperienced to fight Goliath, David didn’t argue from confidence in himself. He argued from memory. He reminded Saul — and himself — of every lion and bear he had already faced while tending his father’s sheep.

"The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine."  —1 Samuel 17:37, CSB

David’s courage wasn’t manufactured on the spot. It was recalled. He remembered what God had already done, and that memory became the foundation for what he believed God would do next. Jesus asks the same of us. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever — the Father   who never shifts or changes. Every answered prayer, every provision, every moment God has already carried you through is evidence for the battle in front of you now.

Pick up the Stone of the Past. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:16-17, CSB). Remember a specific time God was faithful to you. He hasn’t changed since then, and He hasn’t changed now.

The Stone of Prayer

Long before the valley with Goliath, David faced another kind of giant: a king who wanted him dead. Hiding in a cave from Saul, David didn’t just wait quietly for rescue. He prayed — loudly, honestly, repeatedly.

"Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me, for I take refuge in you. I will seek refuge in the shadow of your wings until danger passes. I call to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me."  —Psalm 57:1-2, CSB

David’s strength came from a well-worn habit of turning toward God first, not last. Later, once every enemy had finally been silenced, he didn’t move on quietly — he wrote an entire song of thanksgiving (2 Samuel 22) because prayer had carried him the whole way. Your giant can show up at any hour, without warning. A life devoted to prayer is a life that’s already ready.

Pick up the Stone of Prayer. "Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving" (Colossians 4:2, CSB). Read 2 Samuel 22 this week as your own song of thanksgiving, and stay alert — the next giant can appear without notice.

The Stone of Priority

When David finally stood across from Goliath, he didn’t make it about himself. He made it about God’s reputation.

"This day the LORD will hand you over to me... and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the LORD saves, for the battle is the LORD’s. He will hand you over to us."  —1 Samuel 17:46-47, CSB

David wasn’t fighting for a trophy, a title, or Saul’s daughter, even though all three were on the table. He was fighting so that everyone watching would know there was a God in Israel. When God’s glory becomes the priority instead of our own, the outcome of the battle stops being the main point — faithfulness becomes the main point, and God supplies the victory.

Pick up the Stone of Priority. "I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20, CSB). Live by faith, give God the glory, and watch your giants fall.

The Stone of Passion

Notice which direction David moved. Goliath advanced slowly, weighed down by armor. David did the opposite.

"As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground."  —1 Samuel 17:48-49, CSB

David ran toward the giant, not away from him. There was no hesitation, no hedging, no waiting to see what Goliath would do first. And when the stone found its mark, David gave every bit of the glory to God, not to his own aim or his own nerve. Passion for God moves toward the hard thing instead of away from it, and it points every eye that’s watching back to the One who deserves the credit.

Pick up the Stone of Passion. "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16, CSB). Be passionate about God. Serve others. Run toward what He’s calling you to instead of away from it.

The Stone of Persistence

Before David ever threw a stone, he had to survive a different fight — the fight to even be taken seriously. He kept asking what would be done for the man who killed Goliath. His own brother Eliab accused him of pride and told him to go back to his few sheep. Soldiers around him doubted him. David would not be talked out of it.

"Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!"  —1 Samuel 17:32, CSB

David wanted this battle won for God’s glory badly enough that discouragement, doubt, and even family opposition couldn’t move him off course. Persistence isn’t stubbornness for its own sake — it’s refusing to let the voices around you talk you out of what God has already put in front of you.

Pick up the Stone of Persistence. "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised... we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved" (Hebrews 10:36, 39, CSB). Press on, and the giant of discouragement will fall.

The Giant Slayer Who Understands

David’s story and Jesus’ story are woven together at every point in this chapter. David was a shepherd who protected his sheep from predators; Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His own. David faced a giant no one else in Israel would face; Jesus faced sin and death, giants far greater than Goliath, that no one else could face on our behalf. David won so that Israel wouldn’t have to fight; Jesus won so that we never have to face our greatest enemy alone.

But unlike David, Jesus doesn’t just win the battle from a distance — He understands the battle from the inside.

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need."  —Hebrews 4:15-16, CSB

Whatever giant you’re staring down, Jesus has already faced temptation, opposition, exhaustion, and grief, and He came through it for you. He gives direction through His Word and His Spirit, and He wants you to follow it. Don’t let the giants in your life — fear, shame, discouragement, sin — stop you from walking in relationship with Him or from living out the purpose He has for you here. Our Savior cares about you, and He wants you to succeed.

Taste and See

Every believer has giants. Some are loud and public, like Goliath standing in a valley shouting insults. Others are quiet and private, known only to you and God. Either way, the invitation is the same one David lived out long before he ever stepped into that valley: taste and see that the LORD is good, and pick up the stones He has already placed within your reach.

You don’t need a sword to win this fight. You never did.

Five Stones to Carry This Week

• The Past — Write down one specific way God has already been faithful to you.

• Prayer — Set a daily reminder to pray before your giant shows up, not just after.

• Priority — Ask before any hard decision: whose glory am I seeking here?

• Passion — Choose one thing you’ve been avoiding, and run toward it this week.

• Persistence — Identify the discouraging voice you need to stop listening to, and stop.

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Your Plan of Action

Use this simple plan to put David’s five stones into practice, one day, one week, and one month at a time.

Daily	This Week	This Month	Ongoing
Name one giant you’re facing. Thank God for one time He’s already come through for you.	Read Psalm 57 and 2 Samuel 22 as prayers. Pray them back to God in your own words.	Write down every giant God has helped you defeat this year. Keep the list where you’ll see it.	Ask before every battle: whose glory am I fighting for?
Run toward one hard conversation or task you’ve been avoiding.	Do one visible act of kindness or service — let your light shine where someone can see it.	Choose one area of discouragement and commit to it for 30 more days before quitting.	Bring your weakness to Jesus — He already understands it. Ask for mercy and grace.

PICK UP THE STONE IN FRONT OF YOU

You don’t need a sword. You need what David had — the past, prayer, priority, passion, and persistence — and a Savior who has already faced every giant ahead of you.

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