“Then David left his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line and entered in order to greet his brothers”. 1 Samuel 17:22 NASB

Recently, on my commute the Lord showed me this verse in response to the anxiety I had been feeling concerning some new situations. Emilola, leave your baggage with the baggage keeper so that you can run to the battle line. I felt that line impressed deeply on my heart. Almost immediately I recalled 1 Peter 5:7 NASB “Casting all your anxiety on Him, because he cares for you.”

Casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. It’s a present continuous verb – Casting. You need to keep doing this every time you feel anxious. Or put it like this, casting all your baggage on Him for He is your baggage keeper (and I say this or rather type this with all reverence). This type of baggage you are not required to reclaim after you have dropped it off.

To be capable of running to the battle line, you need to drop your baggage. Everything that may hinder you. For some it will be an emotional or mental baggage, of not being enough, not quite measuring up to what you now face. Fear of the future or anxiety about unknown outcomes. For others, it may be financial worries, health concerns or fertility issues. Marital woes or parental hardships and the list is endless. All these, you need to leave with the baggage keeper. You are already enlisted in a battle! You may not be aware, but you are in a secret battle for your lives, families, dreams and future.

The Israelite army had gathered on one side of a mountain while the Philistines had gathered on the other side. Their champion, Goliath from Gath, challenged the ranks of Israel for 40 days, morning and evening he dared them to produce a man to fight him. David’s father had sent him to bring provisions to his brothers and their commander, also to bring back news of his brothers’ welfare. The giant’s taunts struck fear into the hearts of all who heard him except one.

David dropped his baggage with the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line verse 22 of 1 Samuel 17 informs us, yet when he faced Goliath the Bible records in verse 49, David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. This was the same bag he filled with five smooth stones from the brook, after he shook off Saul’s untested loaned armour!  And the stone sank into Goliath’s forehead so that he fell on his face to the ground. Thus, it wasn’t all his baggage that David surrendered to the baggage keeper.

Hebrews 10: 35 KJV states, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.” This one bag, David kept with himself. He took into battle, this bag – his confidence – he reached into it and struck the enemy with a stone. His confidence was built on the faithfulness of God. The tried and tested faithfulness of God! The God who had delivered him from the paw of the bear and the lion would deliver him from this ginormous beast of a man!

David had released his baggage to run to the battle line to greet his brothers. He thought he was just there to deliver supplies alongside greetings and encouragement from his father. Little did he know, before the end of the day he would be delivering another kind of message to the enemy. By the time the real confrontation started, David was ready, having divested himself of what would weigh him down. He was able to run to meet Goliath, with one thing necessary in a face-off with the enemy – Faith!  Someone has described faith simply as confidence in God. Reaching into this confidence built on God’s faithfulness and nothing less, he quickly dispatches Goliath.

In our battle against the enemy of our souls no matter what guise that battle takes, we must know what baggage to leave with the baggage keeper and which to carry into battle. After all, as the Bible says …..“and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5: 4-5 NASB

Thanks for reading!

Emi x