Most of us know the story of David and Goliath, and most of us know it from the perspective of us being David. There are countless lessons in it, like how we should face our giants with faith and courage. There is a lot there, but what if we are not David? What if we are more like Saul? We were called to act, but we have messed up and are now frozen by fear, pride, and disconnection from God.

I think we regularly mess up who we should identify ourselves with in biblical stories. We tend to always pick the main character, forgetting that we are not even main characters in our own lives. Sometimes we’re even the bad guy! We miss that there are lessons to be had from an entire story. We get so fixed on David. We are the true underdog. What if we are actually Saul? That is not entirely a bad thing. Saul was a king. He was a leader and a warrior. He had the title and the stature. First Samuel 9:2 should remind us that he was a head taller than anyone in Israel. Yet in the face of Goliath, he hid in fear. He was not waiting on God; he was just avoiding the problem. Sound familiar at all?

He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the others.”

1 Samuel 9:2

We try to be like David, who is courageous, full of faith, quick to obey, and loyal, but we are more like Saul, who is fearful, paralyzed, hesitant to act, and jealous of others. Like Saul, we are aware of our problems, but we are unwilling to act. In fact, both of us are so aware that we are willing to shell out money and vices—anything to get rid of the problem. Saul offers wealth, a royal marriage, and tax exemption. You do not offer those kinds of things in exchange for small problems. Imagine what our government would require to get around paying taxes! No one steps forward because fear was louder. You cannot bribe others into faith when your leadership is hollow. Saul obviously had influence, but he had lost his spiritual authority.

Saul	David
Fearful and paralyzed by doubt	Courageous and full of faith
Hesitant to act	Quick to obey and take initiative
Avoids responsibility	Embraces the challenge
Jealous of others’ success	Loyal even when mistreated
Relies on appearances and status	Relies on God and humility

The thing about the spiritual authority that Saul lost is that, at first glance, his fall seems sudden. It appears to hinge on a single act of disobedience: offering a sacrifice without waiting for Samuel. On the surface, that seems like an issue strictly between Saul and God. Everyone else there was probably wondering when Samuel would arrive, glancing at their sundials, ready to get on with the battle. There is a deeper issue at play. Over time, Saul’s private compromises began turning into public failures. Later, we read about him setting up a monument to himself, glorifying his own conquest. Without God’s presence, Saul was just a tall man with a title. Even when something seems to be just between you and God, it does not take long for others to sense that something is off and not quite right.

When we consider the height of Saul and Goliath, we have to remember that it is synonymous with great warriors during biblical times. There is a lot of crossover in terms of the people who are warriors, Nephilim, Giborim, and a host of other names they go by. It is interesting, though, that the Nephilim is actually a translation of “fallen warriors.” It is almost to say that a critique on them is also a critique on all the men who claim notoriety just from their conquests. We get this reminder again in knowing that Goliath’s end is coming. It is a major statement for the Bible, and it is a warning for us who are more like Saul, a tall warrior wanting to face his own battles. Even when we feel like that, there is always going to be another battle that is much taller and more difficult to face. It is enough to make us feel small, but that is just the result of fear. Fear will always distort perspective and make God feel absent.

Is God absent though? Is the fear real? In this moment of the story, Saul and the Israelites have all forgotten their history. They just faced a successful battle against the Philistines in First Samuel 14. It was the same deal: armies on hills with a valley in between. Jonathan and his armor bearer crossed the valley alone, trusted God, and caused a panic and defeat in the Philistine camp. Goliath was a tall guy, but it is much harder facing a crowd than one man. Jonathan says in the moment, “Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.” Where was this belief when camped out with Goliath for forty days?

“Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”

1 Samuel 14:6

Forgetting something like that is a big deal. The forty days reference is always a major emphasis for a big block of time. How long did it take for their faith to fade? I would argue it does not take long at all when you are no longer in the presence of God. Saul was not just absent from the battle; he was absent from his leadership and from the Lord. Those things really hit you hard when you are supposed to have a calling of something greater. The thing about us seeing ourselves as David is that we often look at it as God empowering us to fight. There is a season for that. There is also a season where we are more like Saul. We have been beaten down and no longer need to be empowered. We just need God to come in and rescue us Himself. We need to be redeemed before we get to the next chapter.

The hope of the Gospel is not that we necessarily become David. It is that Jesus is the true mark. Jesus is the one who fights for us. He defeats what we are too scared to face. He brings victory even when we are hiding in fear. We can be strengthened by God, but we also have to be willing to let Him fight our battles for us. Are you honest with yourself? Are you trying to be David when you are actually spiritually dry and isolated like Saul? It is time we surrender and let God take care of us.

What would it look like if we stopped pretending to be brave and have it all together, and we started trusting God on our behalf?