When Underdogs are under the Shepherd
Do you feel like an underdog sometimes? All the time? Especially when you look at how you're going to have to clean up your act and repair the damage you've done by your sin? Take heart! From 1 Samuel 17:34-37, God wants us to know that When Underdogs are under the Shepherd, they have confidence, weapons, and victory. April 13, 2008.
I’m not going to ask for a show of hands, but I imagine there are plenty of you who like to cheer for the underdog. While it’s true that there are some performers and athletes are so good at what they do that we just step back and admire their accomplishments, it’s also true that many of us have a heart for the underdog. Maybe that’s because in a lot of situations in life we feel like the underdog, and we feel a connection and some hurt when an underdog gets crushed.
In the first Scripture lesson today, from the book of 1 Samuel, we stand with a teenager named David whose job was to be over sheep but who was an underdog. We join him in looking up into the glowering glare of gigantic Goliath. Our palms get a little sweaty. Our knees start to shake. But God didn’t put this account in the Bible so that we get caught up in how we would feel if we were in David’s sandals. He caused it to be recorded so that we can focus on what he did for and through David because God also wants to work for and through us. He wants us to know that When Underdogs are under the Shepherd, they have confidence, weapons, and victory.
Confidence
The Philistines had gathered forces for war against the Israelites. King Saul and his Israelite troops went to stop the attack. The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them. When the battle lines had been drawn up, a mighty champion of the Philistines named Goliath walked down into the valley and shouted a challenge at the Israelite forces, “Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects, but if I overcome and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us”(1 Samuel 17:8-9). A duel between two champions to determine the outcome of a battle was not unusual. But who was going to fight Goliath? Nine feet tall, a bronze helmet, a coat of armor weighing over one hundred twenty-five pounds, a bronze javelin slung on his back a spear as big as a piece of timber with an iron point weighing fifteen pounds by itself! Saul and all the Israelites were … terrified(1 Sam 17:11). Who wouldn’t be?
That’s when a young shepherd boy arrived on the scene. David had come near the front lines to bring his three oldest brothers a “care package” from home. But when he heard Goliath’s taunts, David was steamed. “How dare that heathen defy the armies of the living God?” David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of the Philistines; your servant will go and fight him”(1 Samuel 17:32). Where did he get such courage? Where did David get such confidence? David himself gives us the answer. While tending his father’s sheep, he had to fight and kill a lion and a bear which had attacked the flock. Did he get power from himself? No! “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” David didn’t get courage from within. If he had looked in a mirror, he would have seen only a young, immature teenager. His courage was based on God. The guarantee that God was like a shepherd watching over him gave him confidence. Listen to David’s emphasis on God’s power as he spoke to Goliath. “This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head … and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel … All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
Who’s the Goliath you have to face? You might be thinking of the bully down the block when you were young or the over-bearing boss at work or the control-seeking relative. But before you start searching your brain for the mean and nasty bad people who have made you feel like an underdog, remember that our real enemy is Satan, and he uses as his ally the in-born, dirty-to-the-core sinful nature lurking inside your heart and mine. Bullies might intimidate us and drag us down, but the devil wants to drag us to hell. Where are we going to get the courage to face him down? Where are we going to get the confidence to keep our foot on the neck of the old Adam or old Eve hiding inside? From the same place David did, from our God. He promises to stand behind us, alongside us, in front of us, and over us as much as he did that for David. We underdogs are under the Good Shepherd. God watched over David, and he watches over us. So, don’t try to slip out from under his watchful eye and protecting hand to face Satan alone. Don’t try to overcome your evil desires alone. The apostle Paul wrote, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”(Romans 8:31). In other words, even if it’s just you and God, you are in the majority. When Underdogs are under the Shepherd, they have confidence.
Weapons
Goliath was huge, and his weapons were scary. A fifteen pound iron point at the end of his spear! No wonder King Saul was hesitant about sending David to this meat grinder. But if the young shepherd insisted, at least he should look like a warrior. “Here, David! Put on my armor.” But David almost tipped over, “I can’t go in these. I’m not used to them.” Was he going to take on the giant bare-handed? Not exactly!
David had weapons – a slingshot. Put a stone in the folded strap, twirl it around, and let it fly! He must have practiced a lot and become very proficient. But for Goliath, this was a joke, “Am I a dog that you come at me with sticks?” The obvious answer to his question, which he expected David to say, is, “If you’re a dog, Goliath, I am truly an underdog.” David’s weapon was like a Wii-control compared to Goliath’s mighty missiles. Yet, David’s weapons were greater and more effective. He wielded the reputation of his great God. “You come against me with a sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty.”
The Lord does not leave us empty-handed in our battles against the devil and dirty partners. He has given weapons. God’s Word is like a hammer (Jeremiah 23:29). It can crush a stony heart. It is sharper than any double-edged sword(Hebrews 4:12), cutting the sinful desires and hidden evil in our hearts. God’s word assures us that we have a Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep and came back to life not only to be with us but to equip us with the tools we need to send the devil running. A young man was extremely troubled by his past, sinful thoughts and actions. “How can I overcome this?” he asked. The answer – “Look at what the Good Shepherd has done for you. He has taken you, and plenty of other sheep like you, removed you from the slaughterhouse line, and equipped you with power to make right decisions for the right reason. You are a not lame, lowly lamb. You’re an underdog under the Shepherd with all his weapons at your disposal.”
Victory
Goliath was sure he’d win the victory. He must have been thinking, “I could run this kid through with my spear like a toothpick through an olive. With one flash of my sword I could zip off his head and squish it like an egg. With one swing of my forearm I could send him tumbling like a tumbleweed.” He was sure of victory.
But victory was in God’s hands. God drove the stone into Goliath’s skull. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. The Bible writer called out, “Oh, Israelites! Step back and look what has happened! You aren’t heroes. Shepherd-boy David isn’t the champion. The Lord Almighty, the Good Shepherd, won the victory.”
I don’t think any of us would be willing to face Iraqi insurgents alone. Nor would we want to face Satan alone. He tries to lure us away from God by dangling dollar signs in front of our eyes and making material goods seem more important than anything else. He tries to turn the blessing of friendship into a gossip gang or snooty clique. He tries to work on our pride so that we don’t admit our errors and don’t go at the daily task of beating down our selfish pride. But the Good Shepherd shoved Satan back into his dungeon and gives us the victory. The Lord of heaven and earth took on human flesh to pit himself against the devil, came out on top, and takes us along to share in his glory. When underdogs are under the Shepherd, they have victory.
Young David was the underdog in this battle. But because he was under the Good Shepherd, he had confidence, weapons, and the ultimate victory. He became the greatest king of Israelite history. But there’s more to the story. Later as king, he made a mess of his life with sinful choices and actions so that he was not only an underdog but a lost lamb. You know what? The Good Shepherd still loved him, forgave him, restored him, and rebuilt his life. David wrote about that – being under the Good Shepherd – in one of the most famous songs of all time. We know it as Psalm twenty-three.
Do you feel like an underdog sometimes? All the time? Especially when you look at how you’re going to have to clean up your act and repair the damage you’ve done by your sin? Take heart! We may be underdogs, but we’re under the Shepherd. He makes us lie down in the pastures of his soul-nourishing Word. He lets us drink the cool water of his promises. He gives us confidence to sit at a feast-table of spiritual power in spite of the devil’s attempt to pull out the chair from under us before we sit down. He even leads us through the valley of the shadow of death, using the short club and guiding staff of his word to drive away whatever threatens our connection to him and lead us where he wants us to go. Underdogs, do you want something to cheer about? Cheer about what the Good Shepherd has done for us. Because we are under that Shepherd, goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on April 13, 2008
Related Sermons
A Disciple Named __________
Good stories don't have to take long to tell. Take Dorcas, for example. Dorcas was "always doing good and helping the poor," and we'd never know it except for what's written about her in Acts 9:36-42. Like Dorcas, each of us is "A Disciple Named ________. " Each of us makes a difference. May 13, 2012. Read on
Branch Out, but Not on Your Own
Jesus declares that he is the Vine—and we are his living branches, connected to him. And like grapevines, we often need to be "pruned" to be "productive." Through that, how do we stay connected to Jesus, our Vine? John 15:1-8 encourages us to "Branch Out, but Not on Your Own." May 6, 2012. Read on
Keep Watch, Shepherds!
Many joys and privileges come with positions of power and freedom; along with it comes just as much responsibility. No wonder the apostle Paul's final words in Acts 20:28-32 to the church leaders in the Ephesian church warned, "Keep Watch, Shepherds!" April 29, 2012. Read on