Timely action secures victory

Seizing the moment

Timely action may overcome acute problems, grab unique opportunities or sow seeds (ideas) that may later germinate.

I saw on television how three Masai warriors, armed only with spears and shields, walked deliberately towards a pride of lions feasting on a recently killed wildebeest. The pride included a male, several lionesses, and a few cubs. The unwavering approach of the men made the lions waver and scatter. While two men stood guard, one cut off a front leg and shoulder of the carcase. They walked off with their prize and later roasted it on fire. They knew how to seize the moment.

The teenage David took delicacies to his brothers in King Saul’s army, who was preparing for a battle with the Philistines (1 Sam. 17). David heard the bragging of the giant, Goliath; he saw the fear of the Israelites; and he took notice of the king’s reward offered to the person who could silence the brute.

David accessed the situation: the enemy’s weak spots and his own fortes. He decided to grab the moment, volunteering to fight the giant.

His brother and the king tried to discourage David with putdowns, but he insisted that he could slay Goliath as he had slain a bear and a lion to protect his flock.

David had the God-trusting courage that the others lacked. Deliberately and confidently, he put himself into harm’s way. He was not over-confident, though. He put five stones in his pouch, not only one. Seeing Goliath’s heavy stature and armour, David knew he could easily outrun the over-weight and over-loaded monster. If he missed with the first shot, he could run and reload.

Thanks to the God in whom he trusted, the first shot was a bullseye. The giant fell face-down in the dust; David chopped his head off with Goliath’s sword; and as he held it up, the Philistines fled, and Israel pursued them for a great victory.

Where did David’s faith come from? Who had planted the first seeds in his mind and heart? When Samuel anointed him as king when he was still a shepherd boy, he already knew God, who described him as a man after his own heart (1 Sam. 13:14).

Storytelling around an open fire was their main evening entertainment. David’s father Jesse would have told episodes from their nation and family’s history more than once to his children.

David knew the story of his great-grandparents, Boas and Ruth, who met in a barley field. Ruth testified to Naomi, “Your God will be my God.” Providence brought this Moabitess into the messianic lineage. David was taught to believe in the true God, the God of Israel – El Elohe Israel (Gen. 33:20).

Jacob Van Zyl of Lethbridge is a retired counsellor and the author of several faith-based books.