In 2nd Samuel 21:15-22 is the story of David and his continual conflict with the descendants of Goliath; it kind of reminds you of the Rocky sequels. We are about six years before David’s death, and it’s been a while since he had gone out to battle, but we find him out fighting with his army beside him, impressive considering his age, but he is not physically up for the fight. David was holding his own against one of the sons or brothers of Goliath whom David had slain as a teenager, but he was faint, not from fear but fatigue. Ah, the heart was willing, but the flesh was weak.
Now if you hang around the people God uses long enough, you will discover that they are not “supermen.” The greatness we observed was not their own; rather, it was what David will say in the next chapter in verses 36-37. “Your gentleness has made me great. You enlarged my path under me, so my feet did not slip.” There is a difference when we see weakness in a servant based upon physical limitations and one that is based upon character, as even great effective men of God grow old!
Hey saints, I personally would rather wear out from use, than rust out from inactivity. In Psalm 139:14, we are told, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” In Eph. 2:10, Paul told us that we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” I have wasted far too much time on myself and have not spent enough time “walking in the good works,” so why not make a “New Years” resolution to see more of “the good works God prepared beforehand”?
As that relates to David, he is in his 60s, and the good work is not the giant killer he once was, as his presence on the battlefield became a liability instead of an asset. Instead it was teaching others to become better leaders!