I've Answered My Own Question (part one)

I Samuel 17:40 "Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine."

When I get to heaven, I hope that I will be able to have a press conference with God so that a couple of questions that have nagged me can be answered.  One of those questions is about Noah's Ark.  Specifically, how did Noah and his family fit all of those animals in the ark?  My theory is that the animals (male and female of the same species) were not fully grown.  In other words, one could fit, uh, squeeze more smaller animals into the ark than fully grown ones.

Another question I would pose to the Creator of the Universe is "... why did David choose five stones to slay Goliath?"  If he had God behind him, why not just choose one?  After all, the giant went down with one stone to the head.

This past Friday night, I was engaged in conversation with someone whose opinion I value.  We were discussing how a person with little to no political experience could win an election and make a positive mark in politics.  She uttered this comment during our chat, "Tim. What I'm beginning to like about you is that you are all about preparation."  

The danger when you believe that you are being called to do something is to take that calling and run with it -- without taking a step back to assess the parts that you will need in order to be successful in that calling.  The writer of Proverbs 24:27 puts it this way: "Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house."  In other words, prepare a good base so that all of the necessities and contingencies are secure, then move toward what is desirable or toward your calling.

Which takes me back to David.  While David was confident that God would help him slay Goliath, David also may have thought that it would take more than one stone to bring the giant slamming to the ground.  Also, David may have thought that other Philistines would try and attack him during his battle with the giant, so therefore, not to be over confident, he grabbed more stones to cover all bases, obstacles and situations.

God gives all of us the ability to do battle every day.  However, it is up to us to individually to prepare accordingly to overcome all hurdles.

David wanted to be prepared.  He crossed all the T's, dotted all the I's.   So I guess I answered the question I wanted to pose to God about why David choose five stones rather than one.  Or did it?  Look for part two soon.