Brave as a Child

“Who is this…Philistine 

that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

–1 Samuel 17:26b

The question above precedes a Biblical showdown. The army of Israel was preparing for battle with the Philistines when the enemy unveiled its secret weapon, a man named Goliath. We are told that he stood more than 10 feet tall. Shouting from a hilltop, Goliath issues a challenge to fight Israel’s best soldier one-on-one, with the victor receiving the other’s army as his prize. No one accepts the proposal for the author says the Israelites were “dismayed and greatly afraid.”

Just then, a young man named David appears. He has been sent by his father to take food to three brothers fighting in the army.  We don’t know how old David was, but perhaps an adolescent since he wasn’t in the army himself. When he heard of Goliath’s challenge, David brashly responds “who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”  With no better options, the soldiers encourage the boy to take up their battle.  At first, David’s oldest brother and King Saul resist. Yet eventually the young man wears both of them down with his argument and fervor. After declining Saul’s offer of armor and sword, David then draws near to Goliath armed only with a sling and five smooth stones.

We know how the story turns out. In a matter of moments the battle is over, Goliath is dead, and the Philistines have fled.  That Scriptural encounter is the basis for so-called “David and Goliath” showdowns of today when a nation or sports team, political newcomer or a start-up company seems terribly over-matched by their opponent. Such modern-day examples often cause us to pull for the underdog, but I’d like to stay with the original scene and its central actor. For how could David show such courage in that moment long ago when grown men were cowering in fear? And perhaps even more importantly, how can we find the same kind of resolve for the frightening moments of our day? 

Not many of us have been confronted by a 10-foot opponent. Nor have many of us known of a time when an army’s fate depended upon our success alone. Yet we do know of moments when our knees start knocking and our heart begins to race because of what we are facing. It might be when we walk into a new school or church, not knowing a soul. It can surface as we hold our newborn baby for the first time or when we run into an ER to check on a loved one brought by ambulance. In such times and countless others we, too, can discover that we are in sore need of courage.   

It is to such instances that David’s actions reveal what can happen when we draw upon the things we know.  Read the full narrative of his encounter (1 Samuel 17) and  you will see that David was convinced he would succeed because of God’s help in the past. He knew that any previous success was not due to his own strength, but God’s active presence. In other words, he could act with courage staring up at Goliath because of what he had learned. As people of faith, we can manage our fears on the same basis, with courage surfacing due to all kinds of knowledge.

You may recall that this series grows out of a list developed by a school district of attributes it would seek to model and encourage in its students.  Thus, in pondering how an educational setting can help instill courage I thought of a personal moment when I saw that outcome.

In December of 2022, I took my almost 7 year-old granddaughter to see “Charlotte’s Web.” The performance took place at the Arden Theater in Philadelphia.  It’s an intimate setting.  The audience sits above the stage with fourteen rows of seats stretched around the front. Sitting on Row 9, we felt very close to the action.

The play was excellent and several of the actors filled multiple roles. The woman cast as Charlotte was an amazing actress and athlete, climbing up and down a rope meant to depict one strand of a spider’s web. Often she would hang upside down high in the air. I was struck by her acting and physical strength. Both my granddaughter and I were transfixed and delighted as that familiar story came to life again.  

Just before the performance began that day, a cast member had welcomed the crowd and said that after the play there would be a time for questions from the audience. True to her word, after the ensemble received our enthusiastic applause ninety minutes later, the same woman returned to the stage and asked if there were any questions.  Immediately, my young companion’s hand shot up.

I found myself thinking “What in the world is she going to ask?” and will confess that I also held my breath wondering what was on her mind. Hers was the final question. “Why was it,” she asked “that you had several people play more than one part? Could you not find enough actors?”

There was some gentle laughter by a few audience members over the phrasing of her words, but the cast member took her question seriously.  I don’t remember the answer as I felt both relieved by the query and proud that she had been brave enough to pose a question.  I commended her in the moment and when I shared the story with her parents. In thinking about that moment later, though, I became convinced that she had no trouble speaking up like that in a room of strangers in large part because of her academic setting. She attends a private all-girls school near Villanova.  Their website speaks of how it “intentionally creates a culture of academic excellence that empowers each girl to learn, to lead, and to live a legacy.”  Sitting in a theater, I saw the fruits of that effort in one first grader who first made me a grandfather and continues to inspire me.     

A boy stood up to a giant long ago when all other adults were afraid to act. A 7-year-old girl posed a question in a room where I was the only person she knew. Together, those deeds suggest to me that one goal for all of us is to keep striving to be as brave as them, no matter what we are facing. 

Abiding God, throughout Scripture you urge your people not to be afraid and to trust instead that you are ever-present. Whatever the circumstances, help me this day to be filled with courage arising from that clear history with you. Amen.