A Tale of Two Armors

1 Samuel 17:38-39
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. "I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off.

I just revisited the very familiar story of David and Goliath, I was struck by the humorous picture of David in Saul’s armor. Saul was chosen as King of Israel because of his imposing figure, he stood a head taller than everyone else. His armor would have been huge in comparison to this little boy David. He would have looked much like a child playing dress up in his parents’ clothes. Saul’s attempt to dress David in this earthly form of protection reveals the distinction between Saul and David’s source of confidence. Saul had learned to trust in his strength and power. David, on the other hand was just a boy facing a giant that he knew was beyond his ability to defeat. No amount of earthly weapons would change that, yet David had no doubt of the appending victory.

In this story we don’t detect even the slightest hint of fear in David. I used to always think of this as a tale of courage and of how God responds to boldness and faith. However, I really think it is more about David’s revelation of the nature of God in his life. David revealed his source of strength when he told of his deliverance from the lion and the bear [1 Samuel 17:34-37]. David was just as helpless against the fierce power of those creatures as he was against the Philistine. I would venture to guess that David’s first encounter with those terrifying beasts was a much different scene than the fearless David we see facing down Goliath. I imagine an image of a panic stricken boy terrified for his life and a powerful loving God overcoming the enemy that was seeking to harm His chosen one. As God revealed himself to David as his protector a bold confidence emerged. David no longer viewed his adversaries in relation to himself or his power, but rather in comparison to his Protector. In God even a giant is no threat.

When we are faced with fear we all so often, like Saul, run to our earthly armor. We try to convince ourselves that the threat is not beyond our own strength or ability to control. We will hide in the false protection of our job, our talents, our education, our drive and diligence, or in our relationships. We will try to stand strong in our pretend courage and act as though we are not afraid, yet God sees the quivering little child beneath the armor. He stands calling us to face the truth that the giant is to big for us. He is asking us to put down our earthy protection and take hold of His armor. An armor not of our strength but rather of His mighty power, His healing truth, His gift of righteousness, His perfect peace, and the power of His Spirit. He is inviting us to walk in the faith that comes from knowing God as our protector. He is inviting us to rest in the shadow of His mighty wings knowing that no advisory will be too big for Him…

Ephesians 6:10-18
The Armor of God
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

Paradox of Faith

What is God like? We spend much of our Christian life searching to answer this question. We have sought to discover Him in what we read about Him, in what others say, and in the experiences that have shaped our lives. We hear words meant to describe Him, beautiful words like… holy, powerful, merciful, gracious, loving, omnipresent, creator, and father. We tend to apply what our lives have taught us about such words, then give them a slightly loftier meaning and attach them to our image of God. In God however, these meanings are altogether different than anything we have ever known. For example, God’s love is not a higher version of my love for my wife; it is wholly different. We must accept that God’s nature is far outside the realm of our own understanding, and our attempt at making Him fit our definitions simply creates a god of our own imagination.

The tragedy is that we have become more comfortable with the gods we have created! Although it is only a broken picture of a god, at least we know what to expect. If we let go of the safety of the god of our imagination and accept that He is beyond our ability to comprehend, how then can we know what He is like? How do we trust that He is safe? So, in an attempt to hide from the fear of Him we create a god we can control. We pray to this image of the god we have created and wait for it to respond and confirm what we have believed about him. However, God in His grace withholds the answer we expect and seeks instead to reveal the truth of who He is… it is only in finding Him in truth that we are set free. [John 8:32]


When we begin to allow God to be just who He is, we will be confronted by His vastness, His holiness, His limitless power, and the infinite nature of His being. Our hearts will tell us to fear that which we can’t control; we will be tempted to return to our created god for we think him safer. However, we must resist, for when we come before Him just as He is we will encounter a love that only infinite perfection allows. We will be compelled to walk in the grace that only His limitless goodness and all sufficiency make possible. Our heart will begin to find rest in the unchanging nature of God. We will soar with the confidence of knowing He will not change His attitude towards us. When we let go of the image of our created god we open the door to the place where the limitless power of God meets His tender mercies, were His justice meets the cross of Christ and where His unfathomable wisdom meets the heart of the Father. When we cease trying to make God understandable and allow Him to draw our fearful hearts towards his Majesty, we will soon discover that the very traits which had compelled us to fear will become the source of our strength and everlasting joy! As the truth of God penetrates our heart, faith is born. It will no longer be a faith based in our own merit or goodness, but rather a faith grounded in the confidence of beginning to know something of what God is really like!

“The greatness of God rouses fear within us, but His goodness encourages us not to be afraid of Him. To fear and not be afraid –that is the paradox of faith.” – A.W. Tozer

Child of God

I had another topic in mind as I went to write this, however since fatherhood is all so new to me I am compelled to write about my baby girl again. An amazing thing about my daughter is that life is so new for her. It is not often you get to see someone forming their beliefs and expectations from the start. The way a new baby learns to process life before all the brokenness of the world gets in the way, is taking me back to the start of where I think faith should begin, back to the simplicity of a parent and a child. My daughter’s new identity is being shaped by her perception of my attitude towards her. As I am learning how to love her, God is calling me back to an identity formed by His attitude towards me.

One thing you will quickly notice about my child is that she is so alert, she is always looking, reaching, touching, and tasting as she tries to take in the world around her and put all the information together. Though her understanding is very limited you can see that she is beginning to recognize something… her mommy and daddy! Although she does not fully grasp who I am, she does know that when she is upset and frightened, she will find me kind and caring. She knows that when I greet her in the morning she can expect a warm hug and a goofy grin… she may even get the daddy dance! She may not wholly know why, but being in the presence of her mommy and daddy brings her a feeling of contentment and well being. Her experiences with us are teaching her that we can be trusted. As I hold her in my arms, she will reach out her hand to touch my face; she searches out my eyes and just seems to get lost in the discovery of how it feels to be loved.

As I sit and hold my daughter I softly sense the voice of the Father calling me to be His child. He is inviting me to crawl into His lap and curl-up in His arms, to reach for His face and to get lost in His eyes as I discover how it feels to be loved. Though I may not fully grasp all the mysteries of who God is, I can know that He is my daddy and I am safe in His arms… I think this is a great place to restart the journey of knowing Him!

'Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God' - John 1:12