Delivering Help

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. I'm Kirsten Holmberg, and I called our devotional reading, Delivering Help. When Heather's job took her to Tim's house to deliver his takeout meal, he asked her to help him untie the knot in the food bag.

Tim had suffered a stroke a few years prior and no longer had the ability to untie the knot himself. Heather cheerfully obliged. Throughout the rest of her day, Heather's thoughts returned to Tim frequently, and she was inspired to assemble a care package for him. When Tim later found the hot cocoa and red blanket she'd left at his door with an encouraging note, he was moved to tears.

Heather's delivery became much more significant than she originally anticipated. The same was true when Jesse sent his young son David to supply his brothers with food when the Israelites drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines in 1 Samuel 17. When David arrived with the bread and cheese, he learned Goliath had been instilling fear in God's people with his daily taunting. David was incensed by Goliath's defiance of the armies of the living God and was moved to respond, saying to King Saul, let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine. Your servant will go and fight him.

God sometimes uses the circumstances of our daily lives to put us in places where he wants to use us. Let's keep our eyes and hearts open to see where and how he might want us to serve someone. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 1 Samuel chapter 17 verses 17 through 26 and verse 32. Now Jesse said to his son David, take this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and hurry to their camp. Take along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit.

See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance from them. There was Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah fighting against the Philistines. Early in the morning, David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other.

David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance and David heard it. Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear. Now the Israelites had been saying, do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him.

He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel. David asked the men standing near him, what will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? And now finishing with verse 32, David said to Saul, let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine.

Your servant will go and fight him. Let's pray. Father, please open our eyes to see where you might want to use us today. Thank you, Lord. It's in your name that we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Kirsten Holmberg and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.