He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine. 1 Samuel 17:40 NLT
I want you to see something in this verse that you may have passed over
before. David did not run to the battlefield in a panic. He did not reach for the
nearest weapon in desperation. He stopped, at a brook, of all places, and
he chose. Five smooth stones, selected with purpose, placed deliberately
into his shepherd's bag before he took a single step toward Goliath.
That deliberate preparation is the heartbeat of this devotional.
Over the course of more than four decades of ministry, I have sat with
people in their valleys. I have walked alongside men and women facing
Goliaths of every kind, sickness and loss, broken marriages, shattered
dreams, seasons of doubt, and days when the giant seemed far too large
and the sling is far too small. And in every one of those conversations, the
question underneath every question has always been the same: How do
I live victoriously when life feels anything but victorious?
This book is my answer, not a perfect answer, and certainly not the only
one, but the one God has placed in my hands through decades of studying
His Word, walking with His people, and learning, sometimes the hard way,
what it means to live a life surrendered to Jesus Christ.
Like David's five stones, the devotionals in this book are not random. Each
one has been smoothed by the waters of scripture, tested in the streams
of real life and chosen with your victory in mind. They are organized
around five great themes, five stones for your shepherd's bag, that
together form a complete journey from identity to inheritance, from preparation to
breakthrough, from the valley floor to the victor's walk.