1 Samuel 17:40

And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.

Who shows up for a round of golf with only one golf ball? No one does, because we need to be prepared for the inevitable. Balls are lost because they are hit into ponds, fly into heavily wooden areas and even roll under fall foliage.

David grabbed five stones instead of only one to arm himself for the battle with Goliath. Was he not confident that he could slay with giant with just one “bullet”? David prepared himself for battle with five stones because Goliath had four brothers who needed to be considered. It would not have mattered if he killed Goliath and didn’t have any ammunition for the rest of his family.

When we show up for the battles of life, we must be fully prepared. We are to be armed not only for the enemy in front of us, but also other considerations which may arise. In Ephesians 6:12, Paul told us our battles aren’t against Goliaths, but giants in the form of powers, principalities, rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness. Each of their goals is to minimize the power and influence of the Christian. Similarly, in Colossians 2:15, we should be empowered by the fact that Jesus forever and totally minimized the power of each of these forces on the cross. They cannot overcome us. It was at the cross, “our rounded stones” became larger and more numerous. It was at the cross where our enemies forever realized their temporary and soon ending influence upon man. It was on the cross, we were fully reconciled with the perfect sacrifice of God’s only sin. He took on the form of a human just as us and faced temptations just as us. He knew no sin and yet was sacrificed because He knew we had no other hope, but for “the cross.”

We have no hope of victory over the “power and principalities” we face but for the cross. Spiritual warfare must be fought spiritually. The stronger we become in Christ, we greater we are able to discern the strategies of our enemy. This power allows us to greater fortify our the boundaries of our lives. Grab another stone before you leave the house this morning!