Most of my students have heard about the story of David and Goliath (even if they don’t know the details, they at least have heard people use “David vs Goliath” in reference to an underdog), but few have heard about how David became prepared for this very public victory. David was a shepherd for his father, and on at least a couple of occasions, David had to fight off some wild animals who were looking to enjoy the sheep buffet. As he was making his case to king Saul to allow him to fight the giant, David said:
"Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God."
He was victorious in these private victories, which enabled him to win in his public battle against Goliath. I think there are two good lessons in that for us today. 1) God tests us in private to allow us to prove ourselves, then He can trust us to have a public influence. 2) We gain confidence as we win our private battles, and then we can be prepared to have an influence publicly.
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