August 15, 2016

World Changers

1 Samuel 17:12-37

The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.

—  1 Samuel 17:37

Our world is smeared with hopelessness, helplessness, and worthlessness. But God wants us to know our worth and have fulfillment in life. He wants us to be world changers. He wants us to move beyond the status quo to help people enter his kingdom.

David was young and inexperienced. According to his brother Eliab, he did not have the right attitude. He was not properly equipped. Yet God used David, an unlikely warrior, to move Israel from a place of defeat to a place of victory.

When David arrived on the battlefield, he saw that the Israelites were paralyzed with fear because of the giant Goliath. But David knew this was the Lord’s battle, so he spoke with words of hope: “Who is this . . . Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? . . . Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine.” From a human point of view, Goliath had the most advanced equipment and the experience of a champion warrior, while David was just a teenager with no ­armor and no battle experience. But David knew this was the Lord’s battle. So he moved past all the obstacles and took this opponent down.

As God’s people on this earth, and with his help, we too can use the skills and limited resources we have to change our world and help God increase his kingdom.

Father, the battle is yours, and we are your servants. Our faith is in you as we face terrifying and fearful things in our lives. We will not fear, for you are with us. Amen.

About the author — John Kuperus

Since he was young, John Kuperus has had a passion that everyone would know Jesus. Spreading the good news that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15) is very important to him. To be better equipped for missions, John attended Reformed Bible College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He applied these skills with marketplace evangelism in a business he started in Sussex, New Jersey. This calling continued to follow him, so John attended seminary and became a minister in the Christian Reformed Church, serving a church in Ontario for eight years. Currently he serves as a missionary for Youth with a Mission (YWAM). He witnesses Jesus changing lives as people walk out of the darkness into the light. John is married to Helen, and they have seven children.

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