Goliath Tries to Bluff

The story of David and Goliath is a well-loved and often-told story. It's been rewritten and retold and alluded to in songs, movies, and books. People take a lot of courage in a shepherd boy downing a mighty giant. We know David couldn't have done it without God's help, and we know that with God's help, we can down all other Goliaths that come our way.

 I also know that David couldn't have done it without God's help, but not because God made him stronger. David was skilled with that sling, and had already killed a bear and a lion. He already had the strength necessary to kill the giant.

 God made David wiser. God made David see truth. And that's why he was able to win when no one else was brave enough to try.

 I'd like to write my own "David and Goliath" story, so I can better demonstrate what I mean.

GOLIATH TRIES TO BLUFF

 The Israelites were scary.

 They were as numerous as the stars and rolled over the land like a sandstorm. The people had heard frightening legends of entire cities being slaughtered in a day and the magic of their deity causing the sun to stand still.

 Everyone wanted them gone. Everyone was too scared to fight them.

 For the Philistines, who had been enemies with the Israelites for a long time, that hatred was stronger than their fear. They knew they couldn't just come in and fight a normal war, for this wasn't a normal army. They had to be crafty and cunning. They had lived under the fear of this people and their god for a long time. With revenge in their hearts, they laid a scheme that would turn the tables and cause the Israelites to fear them, instead.

 "If we can make them forget who they are," they said, "and what they've accomplished, and all that their god has done for them, we can destroy them."

 The Philistines had a solider named Goliath. He had frightening legends of his own. He was nine feet tall and strong as an earthquake. The whole ground shook under him as he walked. He was strong and big and mean. He was perfect.

 "Goliath," the Philistines said, "You are stronger than any one Israelite, right?"

 Goliath, like any good Philistine, hated the Israelites. "I can crush three in each hans like olives," he said.

 "Perfect," they replied. "We want you to deliver all of them into our hands, so we can destroy all of them." And they told them their plan.

 The Philistines, with a plan in their pocket, came out as if to battle and camped on a mountain.

 The Israelites saw them. They weren't afraid, because God had delivered them before and had promised them this land. They were more grumpy than anything, really. "Looks like we've got to push them out of our way again," they grumbled. It was easy to have confidence when they weren't standing in front of the Philistine army. They had the scriptures in their hands, and they couldn't imagine ever forgetting the power of God the Almighty. They began marching out to meet the Philistines and camped on the mountain across from them.

 As the sun rose on the first day of battle, the Israelites could see their enemies on the other mountain. "Boy...they sure are numerous, aren't they?" They said to each other. There were butterflies in their stomachs as they put on their armor and put on their swords. Their minds were more on the Philistines than on the Lord as they got dressed that day, but they were still pretty sure they could win the war.

 The Philistines watched the Israelites prepare, and when it looked like they were beginning to assemble, they gave Goliath the thumbs up. The giant, their bluff, marched into the valley with a sneer on his face.

The Children of Israel watched in stillness as Goliath thundered down to the valley between them. His spear was as long and thick as a weaver's beam. His armor was made of thick, heavy metals like iron and brass. His spearhead alone weighed twenty pounds, and a man walked in front of him, short legs working to keep up, so that he could hold Goliath's shield at a normal man's height in battle.

 Goliath stood in the middle of the valley, feet sinking into the soil, and bellowed, "I AM THE CHAMPION OF THE PHILISTINES! You are servants of Saul, you choose your own Champion to represent your people, and we will battle to the DEATH! If I kill him, you will be our slaves, and if you kill me, we will be yours!"

 The Israelite army stood in a stunned silence, eyes wide and fixed on the parading giant before them.

 "Well?" Golilath continued, his voice shaking both mountains. "Aren't I a Philistine? Aren't you servants of Saul? When armies fight, many men die! Let us settle it HERE, Philistine against servant of Saul!"

 The Philistines were pleased. They had warned Goliath not to call them the Israelites; if he did, they'd remember who they were and charge forward. Still, they knew they hadn't won, and they watched the other mountain, holding their breathes.

 To their delight, the Israelites began to tremble and quake, and turn around to rush back into their tents.

 Goliath's laugh sounded like waves crashing against a cliff.  "I DEFY THE ARMIES OF ISRAEL THIS DAY! GIVE ME A MAN TO FIGHT!"

 Even the reminder that they were of Israel wasn't enough to bring the frightened soldiers out from their tents.

 This went on for forty days. The Israelites would wake up, convinced, "Today will be different! Today we will destroy the Philistines! We know we can do it!" And they would get up and get ready, and then they'd see the giant Goliath come back down into the valley and shout, "HELLO, ARMY OF SAUL!!  I STILL DEFY YOU!! HAVE A CHAMPION YET?!" and they would scamper back into their tents and cower. Day after day, for a month and a half.

 This is where David the shepherd comes in. Three of David's brothers were soldiers in God's army, and their father was worried for them.

 "David," their father said, "can you leave your sheep with someone else for a while? I want you to go check on my sons...bring them food so that they don't think I'm spying on them. Or if they figure it out, at least they'll be forgiving."

 David thought about it for a while. If he were to be totally honest, he really didn't trust anyone else with his sheep. That's why he didn't march with the army in the first place. No one else could kill a bear and a lion with just a sling. But he did miss his brothers, and his father was so worried for them, he agreed to go out and take food to his brothers.

 When David got there, the Israelite army had finally worked up the courage to charge the Philistines. He watched in awe and pride as the army of his God clashed with their enemies, and excitedly searched for his brothers in the mess of soldiers in the valley. He found them near the back.

 "Hey, guys!" He shouted, and ran to them with the bags he brought. "Dad got you food!"

 His brothers gritted their teeth and reminded him that they were a little busy.

 And while he talked with his brothers, that giant Goliath came lumbering back out, bellowing out his challenge. I imagine David, staring up at him with awe and wonder, whispered the Hebrew equivalent of "Woooow, cooool!"

 "DO YOU HAVE A CHAMPION READY TO BE SLAUGHTERED?" Goliath thundered. "I DEFY ISRAEL! I DEFY YOUR GOD!"

 Imagine David's shock and confusion as the Israelites actually turned and ran away. He followed behind slowly, Goliath's foul threats and the reaction of his people--God's people--tumbling in his mind.

 "Uh, hey, guys," he said, when he finally got to camp. "What gives?"

 "Did you see that man?!?" The soldiers replied from behind their tents. "He's huge!"

 "Well, yeah," David said, "but God is--"

 "His mother must've been an elephant!" They continued. "His feet sink into the ground! He's too big and too mighty!"

 "Didn't God part the Red--"

 "Woe is us!"

 "And the manna, and the serpents, and the--"

 "No one is mightier than this Philistine!" They wailed. "Saul has called us out here to this battlefield to die!"

 "What does Saul say about the giant?" David asked. Surely the king wasn't as foolish as his people.

 "King Saul?" They repeated. "He said that if anyone could beat the giant, he'd make him rich! And give him all his daughters!! That's how impossible it is to defeat Goliath!"

 David's face lit up at the thought. "I could beat Goliath," he said. "Easy."

 His older brother heard him, and with an exasperated huff, he marched over and gave David a good brotherly punch in the arm.

 "Oww! What?!"

 "You know what!" his brother answered. "You left all our sheep out in the wilderness just so you could come taste a little battle for yourself! There's a reason we left you at home!"

 David shrugged. "Really, though, I can beat him."

 "You have too much pride," his brother said. "You'll get yourself killed."

 But David knew he wouldn't be killed. God had given him the eyes to see through the designs of the Philistines and see their bluff for what it was. David was strong. All the Israelites were, if they'd just see that. He didn't need God to make him strong, he just needed God to help him see the truth of things.

 Fear had blinded the Israelites. Faith had made David see truth.

 And as David marched down into the valley, whistling and twirling his sling, the Philistines could tell. And the fear sank cold into their hearts. They could tell that he was good with that sling. And they could tell that the power of his god was behind him. He glowed with it.

 "Goliath," they told him, "you've got to scare this kid off. If we can discourage him, the Israelites will sink even deeper into their fear, and we can rule them in their fear."

 "Can't I just kill him?" Goliath replied with a shrug. He had come to believe the bluffing and lies he'd been told to shout.

 "Well, yeah....yeah, do that," the Philistines said. They wanted to believe, like Goliath did. "When he turns around to run, go ahead and kill him. He's just a boy. We'll make an example of him."

 So when David stepped out into the field, Goliath came out from his camp and immediately went to work at his spirit.

 "A boy?! Do you think I'm just some stray dog you can chase off with a staff?!" He shouted. "I CURSE YOU BY MY GODS, that you will FAIL, and do nothing but fail! Failing is your destiny! I will crush you here in front of your people and my people and our gods, and all the beasts of the earth and the fowls of the air will devour your corpse! There won't be enough of you to send back to your family!"

 David stood in the valley for a moment with wide-eyes and a bit of a tremor in his knees. When he was far away, it was easy to see that God was stronger than Goliath, and compare his strength with the Philistine giant. It was easy to remember that David had killed a lion and a bear, that God would level all who stood in His way, and that Goliath was very much so standing in God's way.

 But standing at the feet of the giant and being shaken to his bones by the sound of his voice, he had to work to remember. And he did, because God was the one who opened his mind and expanded his memory. He had to say it out loud to remind himself.

 "You're here with your sword and your spear," he began. "But I come in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel....the God you just defiled."

 With God's powers still on his eyes, David saw the fear in Goliath's eyes. He saw a thread of doubt. And he remembered that what he was saying was the truth, and he continued, shouting up at the giant. "You cursed me by your gods, but they are false gods! I will not fail, but the Lord will help me prevail against you, and you will be left on the fields to be eaten by birds and beasts. And when that happens, everyone--you, your people, my people, EVERYONE--will know that there is a GOD IN ISRAEL! This battle is the LORD'S, and He doesn't need a sword or a spear to win it!"

 Goliath began to remember the legends and stories of the terrifying Israelites. He remembered Jericho and Egypt and everything else he was told as a child. But he comforted himself in his strength and charged forward to kill David.

 It was quite a sight from David's end, to see the giant charging after him. And I'm certain he was a little pale and experiencing a severe adrenaline rush. But he had known the truth at one time, and he wasn't about to let the heat of the moment distract him from that. There was nothing he could do now except trust God, put a stone in his sling, and let fly.

 So he did. And the skills God helped him develop when he was a shepherd, combined with God's power to open eyes and reveal the truth of things, is what killed Goliath the Philistine giant. That is what felled the great bluff, and freed the Israelites from their fear.

 And all who saw, and read thousands of years later, knew that there was a God in Israel.

Trusting God's Plan

Music was a big part in my family. Stories were, too. So naturally, many members of my family got into musical theater and Broadway.

I was the youngest member, and the youngest always watches the older ones carefully. My oldest brother is an amazing musician, and even played the keyboard for BYU's young ambassadors. Both of my brothers held roles in plays and musicals. One of them was one of the Prince Charmings in Into the Woods.

My sister especially was into it. She played Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, placed in several singing competitions, and was every drama and singing teacher's favorite. Her first paid job when she was out of the house was a performing job.

Best part is, my sister was born tone deaf. My mother was able to train it out of her from a young age. And my sister was amazing.

There were some very tall shadows over me. Shadows I was confident I would pull out from. If my brothers could do it, if my once-tone-deaf sister could do it, I knew I could.

I auditioned for everything I could, from 8 to 18. I took lessons and classes, I practiced audition pieces tirelessly, I asked advice from my siblings and the internet. One year for Christmas, my sister put together an audition book for my voice type and range, and I sang from it frequently. Even when I did get an ensemble part, I worked really hard to get along with everyone and not cause any drama.

I never got a single role. Not even once. If it was an "accept pretty much everyone" production, with a big ensemble, I would get an ensemble part, but I never got a role.

And everyone would tell me about all the rejections you had to go through to be amazing one day, and they'd promise that one day a director or producer would see he potential in me and give me a small role to prove myself. But that promise never came true, and I got discouraged.

One of the classes I took was taught by my singing teacher's son, and a Danny Gurwin, who had performed on Broadway many times. It was very, very exciting.

If I can remember right, the class was six weeks long and we met twice a week. It was all about singing and acting at the same time, specifically on wowing casting directors at auditions. A class I was very eager to sign up for.

It was a very small class with all skill levels, and my friends were there, too. At least, the ones who knew who Danny Gurwin was were there. And it was very simply taught. At the beginning of class, the two teachers would go over a general principle, and then we'd get up on the stage individually and sing our short little piece. Then Danny Gurwin would work with us personally.

It. Was. AWESOME. I wasn't even nervous when I hopped up, I was just thrilled to receive help and guidance.

That six weeks was very special for another reason, too. Danny Gurwin really liked me. Like, a lot. Maybe he sensed I was more lacking in confidence, but I got certain praise that the others didn't. One time he even said, "if you came in an audition with that piece, I would cast you as something right there." He always had criticism, because I was a complete amateur with zero experience, but that moment was definitely one of my treasured moments in my meager theater career.

 Throughout the class, he would say, "There's something about you, a unique stage presence, I guess...but I can't put my finger on it. Something about you is different."

 I didn't even care what it was, I just liked the praise. I liked thinking that I was different, that I had a hidden talent that would someday burst out and wow everyone and make everyone feel stupid for not casting me earlier.

 Near the end of the six weeks, I had been working on a piece that Danny Gurwin had given me. I had practiced all week and was very proud of my performance. At the end of it, he snapped his fingers. "I finally figured it out," he said. "I know what's different: you know who you are."

 I thought that was an odd thing to say, and he continued:

 "You're up on that stage in jeans and a t-shirt, your keys hanging off your belt loop, and you're comfortable. You know exactly who you are, and that's rare. You don't see that in every sixteen-year-old."

 Now, I graduated from high school and went to college and tried a few more times to get into shows, but I quickly decided the theater life was not for me. I found other interests and didn't want to fight for that anymore. But Danny Gurwin's words stuck with me for a long time. "You know who you are." And there were times in college where I would get so discouraged or overwhelmed, and I would look back and think, "Do I? Or was I just dumb and naive and I thought I knew who I was?"

 But I'm confident that that can't be faked. And I do know who I am.

 From a young age, I was taught that I am a child of God. He is my Father, and I am His daughter, and that alone gives me inherent value and worth. I know that the very same divine being who created suns and stars and black holes and tornadoes and thunderstorms--that same Father formed my spirit, and loved it, and loves me.

 I know He cares, and I know He doesn't set anyone up to fail. I know He's always making sure that things work out for our good, and that He's always there to help.

 And I know He loves you. I know He's only a prayer away, and He's eager to help you through things. He wants more than anything to love you and be merciful. Moroni 10:3  "Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts."

 I add my admonition to Moroni's: please, please remember how merciful and loving God has been. He really wants the best for us.

 I never did get my time to shine on a stage. But I think that was a mercy of God. I wouldn't have been happy in that crowd, and I really delved into my love of stories and storytelling. God blessed my efforts, and with His help I grew in leaps and bounds as I studies writing and art.

 I know who I am, and I know in whom I have trusted. God is a God of love and miracles. And when things get bad, I can say with confidence that God is still good.

-Sister Stratford

(If you want to know more about what Mormons believe about who we are and why we're here, Check out http://www.mormon.org/what-do-mormons-believe and click on "God's Plan of Salvation")