“Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.” 1 Samuel 17:40

“David . . . chose five . . . stones from the stream.” As you prepare to take a stand for the Lord in the arena, I propose these five stones you can use to defeat the enemy:

  1. The stone of past successes. Recalling his earlier victories, David declared, “The Lord who delivered me from the . . . lion and . . . the bear will deliver me from the . . . this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37).  Write your defeats in sand, but carve your victories in stone by keeping track of God’s faithfulness and the “wonders He has done (1 Chronicles 16:12).  Has H! e ever failed you?  No, and He won’t now!
  2. The stone of prayer.  “Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare” (Ephesians 6:18 TM); you can’t win without it.  David “found strength in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6).  When Saul came after him he called God, his “fortress and refuge” (Psalm 59:16).
  3. The stone of priority.  God’s priority is His reputation, and David’s objective was to defend it by proving “there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel 17:46).  Involving God in your situation gives Him an opportunity to showcase His grace and power.
  4. The stone of passion.  You can’t stare at your giant forever.  Rehearsing your hurts won’t heal them and cataloguing your problems won’t solve them.  You must go out and face the enemy, knowing “the battle is the Lord’s” (1 Samuel 17:47).
  5. The stone of perseverance.  Solomon said, “The diligent make use of everything they find (Proverbs 12:27 NLT).

David picked five stones because he didn’t know how many he would need to do the job.  Like Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over till it’s over,” so be prepared to go the distance.