It Wasn’t Just a Good Shot
In today’s devotion, Dianna Hobbs calls you to shift your focus from your own ability to God’s authority. You are in His hands, and what He has spoken over your life will come to pass.
When I was a little girl, I used to play basketball with my older brothers.
I was the smallest one out there, which is how I ended up with the nickname “Spud Webb.”
Any NBA fans remember Spud Webb, a famously undersized player who could still hold his own? They thought it was funny, and honestly, it fit me perfectly.
What’s interesting is, I could actually keep up.
Not in some exaggerated way. I wasn’t out there dominating anything. But I could play. I could move. And when I shot the ball, there were moments when it just felt easy. Like everything lined up without me having to think too hard about it. The release, the arc, the landing. Nothing but net.
I didn’t think much about it back then, but my brothers did. They noticed when the shots kept falling and how clean they looked. To them, it was something to point out, something to react to.
Looking back, I’m intrigued by how impressed they were with my good shots.
And when we read about David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17, most people talk about that “good shot” in much the same way.
We talk about David’s skill. How precise he was. How easy it seemed. What a good shot he made.
There’s something about that part of the story that just sticks with us.
Maybe because it’s the part we can picture. The motion. The timing. The impact. It all feels so clear, so explainable. You can almost follow the path of the stone in your mind and convince yourself you understand exactly what happened.
And maybe, on the surface, you do.
David pulled back the sling. He released the stone. It struck exactly where it needed to.
Boom. Clean. Direct. Effective.
That was a good shot.
And that’s usually where we stop.
But the focus on the shot isn’t the heart of the story.
***
Just this morning, during my devotion time, this is something the Lord drew my attention to. He would not let me move past it. He also told me to share it, because I don’t think I’m the only one missing the most essential part.
He posed a question: How do we give David’s skill all the credit and God’s power none?
Because if we go back and read what David said before the stone was ever released, it becomes very difficult to call this just “a good shot.”
In verses 45–47, David makes it plain in three distinct declarations:
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty.”
“This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands… and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.”
“All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
Isn’t that powerful, friend?
***
David is not describing a strategy. He isn’t boasting in his ability. He doesn’t suggest the outcome depends on how well he performs in the moment.
He roots the entire situation in God.
And the original language makes that even clearer.
When David says, “the battle is the Lord’s,” the Hebrew word is milchamah. It speaks to the whole conflict, from beginning to end.
And when he says the Lord will “deliver” Goliath into his hands, the Hebrew verb is natan, which means to give, to hand over, to transfer into someone’s possession.
This blesses me!
David isn’t focused on his own effort. He’s focused on what God has already decided. Before he ever takes the shot, he is already describing the outcome as settled.
So, by the time David reaches for the stone, yes, he releases it, but the execution and the outcome were already in God’s hands. And that changes how we read the moment completely.
The stone didn’t just hit because David was accurate. It hit because God said it would.
And the Lord is saying to somebody: don’t worry. Don’t fret. Don’t be intimidated by the giant in front of you or the obstacle in your way.
***
Don’t let anxiety take over just because it feels like you only have one shot. Because when God is directing it, all it takes is one shot.
God never misses. He never fails. He cannot be defeated, intimidated, or deterred.
Therefore, He wants you to know that it is not on you to do the work.
It is on you to watch His Word work.
His Word has already gone out. When He makes a decree, who can overturn it? And who can thwart what He has purposed? (Isaiah 14:27)
No one can!
That’s why in the story of David, this was never really about the shot; it was about the God who was directing it.
The same is true in your story.
God is directing your life through His Word. He has already spoken victory over your situation. And this is why you can rejoice. Whenever God’s Word goes out, it never fails to hit its target.
He tells us this Himself in Isaiah 55:11, which is the sweetener I’m stirring into your cup of inspiration:
“So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: It shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
As you drink down the contents of your cup, God is calling you to walk in the same confidence David had, with the understanding that the battle isn’t yours. The Lord has already settled the outcome.
You may launch the rock, but God controls the aim. And it is His Word, aimed at your situation, that causes it to submit to His will.
Every giant must fall. Every enemy must flee. Every circumstance must align with what He said.
Now, let’s pray.
God, thank You for reminding me through Your Word that victory comes, “not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” according to Zechariah 4:6.
I praise You for the assurance that as I release my faith, You will use whatever is in my hand to bring about Your preordained outcome.
I rejoice that Your perfect will shall be done. You do all things well, and You never fail to perform Your Word.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
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