This is a photo of me sitting on a bench in Boone, North Carolina with the statue of Doc Watson. Doc was an accomplished bluegrass guitarist from the mountains near by. He earned international acclaim through his music. Although he was blind. he did not let his disability keep him from achieving greatness with his ability. My favorite quote from him is …”You have to be yourself, otherwise people won’t know who you are.” There is a lot truth in that simple statement.

There is a great example of this too in the Bible. David had to realize that when he faced Goliath. King Saul who advised David to change his approach. Saul told David: ” All right, go ahead,” he said.”and may the Lord be with you!” Then Saul gave David his own armor- a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. “I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them in 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 17:37- 40 (NLB)

GOD WANTS TO USE YOU. NOT YOUR IMITATION OF SOMEONE ELSE. David was small and Saul was tall, so Saul ‘s armor did not fit David. Sometimes in our effort to please and serve God we try to copy someone else too much and it just doesn’t work for us the same way it does for them. That is ok because God wants to use us in our ” own armor” or what we are most comfortable with in sharing the gospel, encouraging someone, or how we face the giants in our lives. David as a shepherd aleeady knew how to use a sling and some stones in protecting the sheep. Before we try to use some one else’s approach, we should look at how God has equipped us in the past and see if that is the best approach for us now.

GOD DOES NOT WASTE OUR PAST EXPERIENCES. David’s past experiences as a shepherd prepared him for his battle with Goliath. We see examples reoccurring in the lives of our heroes in the Bible, Abraham, Jospeh, Moses, Esther, Paul and many others were prepared for their finest hour by the experiences in their past as they trusted God and lived by faith following Him. Paul put it this way, ” He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.” ( 2 Corinthians 1:4 NLB) If we will committ our past, present, and future to Him, He can do great things through our lives, even when we face giant issues or problems and God often uses our experiences to encourage others.

BE THE VERY BEST WE CAN BE BY LETTING GOD BE OUR SOURCE OF CONFIDENCE. Our personal relationship with the Lord should be our foundation. When God is the center of our life, it frees us up to be who we were created to be in the first place…and a great opportunity to share our faith connect and relate to others in a genuine way.