What Are You Going To Do, David?

"What are you going to do, David?" What a question! David faced this question when he was but a youth. It is one we each are going to have to face in our stand for God. Sadly, David had no local support when the Spirit stirred him to stand against Goliath. The armies were dismayed, his brothers were jealous, King Saul was hid in his tent and there on a mountaintop stood Goliath, brazenly defying Israel. "What are you going to do, David?" The same question could be asked of you: "What are you going to do?"

Like David, you must be able to answer the question, "What are you going to do?" When it was evident that the aged warriors were afraid to stand and fight, David had to face that question. Think of it: a young man, who is ready to fight and to take a stand, ready to challenge the enemy, sees the older warriors afraid and some even hidden in their tents for refuge.

In I Samuel 17:11 & 24 we see that Goliath had everyone afraid. And, David finds himself all alone to face the enemy. "What are you going to do, David?" David said, "Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine." David said he would fight. He would fight even if the aged warriors were afraid.

What will you do when the older Christians, Preachers, Deacons and Evangelists become afraid to fight? When they drop their standard and become lax, indifferent, neglectful, even liberal? "What are you going to do?" "What are you going to do, David?" David faced this question again when his family and friends turned against him for seeing a cause and standing for right. I Samuel 17:28, " Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle." Even his own brother got mad because he, himself, was afraid to stand against the Philistine. He could not face the fact that his younger brother said he could and would do something to take the reproach away from Israel.

What are you going to do, young Christian, young Preacher, young Evangelist, young Missionary, when your family and friends think you are crazy and wrong and prideful for fighting the enemy and for taking a stand and for keeping a reproach from the Church? "What are you going to do?" I hope your answer to that question will be the same as David's: "I'm going to kill the Giant." In I Samuel 17:45, David said to the Philistine, "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied."

"What are you going to do, David?" David faced the challenge from the Philistine: The Philistine said, "I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together". David hears what all Christians, Preachers, Evangelists, and Missionaries hear: the enemy challenging God's people to come and fight with him, to oppose his standards, to tear down his beliefs, to challenge his principles, and to threaten his integrity. David hears the challenge, goes forth and kills the giant. What will you do? "What are you going to do, Christian?" Somebody has got to take a stand against the giant of evil. Somebody has to oppose the wickedness of this world. Somebody, maybe you. David said, "I am going to kill the giant." What will you say? Yes, the aged warriors are running and hiding in their tents everyday. Yes, family and friends are mocking on every hand. Yes, the enemy is crying out a challenge to fight. "What are you going to do? What are you going to do, Christian?"

Tommy Holbrooks, Jr.
Pilgrim Baptist Church, Gastonia, NC