Heart Failure

When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” 1 Samuel 17: 31-33

There is a great tension between feeling competent and developing a competence.

Lou Holtz, the only college football coach to have led six different programs to bowl games and four different programs to the top twenty rankings, once said that “Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.” Whether or not you agree with his percentage, it is hard to ignore the two types of men represented: those that see what they cannot do and give up and those that find a workaround. Want to be the latter? Follow David’s example.

David didn’t go looking for a fight, but when he saw one, he was the only man willing to engage. For David problem was the strength of heart. “Let no man’s heart fail because of him.” The remedy is fascinating. If you know the story, David’s training consisted of defeating lions and bears while tending sheep. Dig a little deeper and the source of his heart strength is clear: “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” David leaned into the battle, but the Lord was the strength of his heart.

DO THIS TODAY: Lean into the battle and let God be the strength of your heart.