And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. — 1 Samuel 17:39
Years ago as a paramedic I spent hours upon hours mentoring alongside experienced medics learning the craft. One of them was particularly skilled and particularly insistent. He wanted me to do everything exactly the way he did it. Approach every call his way. Assess every patient in the same format. Follow his method from the first moment on scene to the moment we transferred care at the hospital. His approach was not wrong. He was an excellent paramedic and what he did worked well for him.
But when I tried to do things his way, I struggled. I could not connect with the patients the way I needed to. The approach that felt natural to him felt forced and unnatural to me. My care suffered. My confidence suffered. And somewhere in the middle of trying to be him, I lost the ability to be me, which was the only thing I actually had to offer.
Eventually I had to lay down his armor and find my own way. David faced the same moment before he ever reached the valley.
Saul’s intentions were good. He gave David the best armor available, a helmet of brass, a coat of mail, his own sword. The armor of a king. Everything a soldier could want going into a battle against a giant. And David put it all on. He tried. He took a few steps and assessed what he was wearing.
And then he took it all off. I cannot go with these. For I have not proved them.
The armor was not defective. It was Saul’s armor, tested and proven in Saul’s battles. But it had not been tested in David’s battles. It did not fit the way David moved. It was not built for how David fought. And David was wise enough to understand that walking into the most important moment of his life wearing untested equipment that belonged to someone else was more dangerous than going without it.
So he laid it down. And he picked up his staff, his sling, and five smooth stones: tools that had been proved in his own experience, in his own field, in his own encounters with lions and bears. He walked into that valley as himself. Fully himself. Not a lesser version of Saul. David.
The pressure to face our giants using someone else’s approach is real and consistent. We watch someone else defeat their giant a specific way and we try to replicate exactly what they did. We follow another person’s battle plan because it worked for them without stopping to ask whether God built it for us. We wear armor that was never fitted to our frame and then wonder why we cannot move in it.
God equipped David specifically for the battle David was in. He does not use a one-size-fits-all approach to how His people fight. He has placed specific gifts, specific experiences, specific ways of moving and connecting and engaging in each of us. And the armor He has given you — the tools He has placed in your hands, the approach He has built through your specific history with Him — is exactly what the battle in front of you requires.
Someone else’s armor may look more impressive. Their method may seem more refined. Their track record may appear more convincing. But you have not proved it. And the valley is no place to find out it does not fit.
Lay down the borrowed armor. Pick up what God has placed in your hands. Walk into the valley as yourself. That is exactly who He equipped for this fight.
God did not equip someone else for your battle. He equipped you. Fight with what He placed in your hands.
Another Well Ministries is supported by readers and listeners who believe in sharing Scripture-centered encouragement with people who need hope.
If you would like to help support this work, you can learn more at anotherwell.org/donate.
These devotionals are written to encourage, challenge, and support you in your walk with God. If they are meaningful to you, you can subscribe and receive them by email.
About Another Well Ministries
Another Well Ministries exists to help people slow down, listen deeply, and encounter God in the ordinary places of life. Through devotionals, reflections, and spiritual resources, we seek to create space for faith to be formed with honesty, grace, and hope.
To learn more about the heart of the ministry or explore additional resources, visit anotherwell.org.
