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Worthy Brief - Christian Newsletter » Newsletters » 2026 » January » Worthy Brief - 1/21/2026

Worthy Brief - 1/21/2026

Friend, from Giolath's sword to David's weapon!

1 Samuel 17:45-47  Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46  This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47  Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD's, and He will give you into our hands." 

1 Samuel 21:9  So the priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here." And David said, "There is none like it; give it to me."

David stood before Goliath and declared judgment before he ever held a weapon. He said, "This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you." Yet there was one glaring detail -- David had no sword. What he spoke did not match what he held. But David was not prophesying from resources; he was speaking from authority.

Authority does not wait for tools.
Authority speaks from Heaven’s verdict.


David didn’t defeat Goliath with Goliath’s sword -- but he finished him with it. The very weapon designed to kill David became the instrument used to silence the giant. What the enemy trusted became the proof of his defeat. David never went looking for a sword; obedience created the moment where authority supplied it.

This is not a coincidence.
This is Kingdom order.


The enemy often brings the tool of his own destruction into the battle. He overplays his hand. He assumes intimidation equals victory. But when faith stands unmoved, what was meant to destroy becomes what testifies that God rules.

Later, when David is fleeing and in need, he asks for a weapon -- and the priest answers, “There is none like the sword of Goliath.” The sword once lifted in defiance now rests in David’s possession. What was once a threat had become a memorial of authority.

Friend, do not wait until you see the weapon before you speak the victory -- authority speaks before provision appears. David declared Goliath’s defeat while standing empty-handed, because he was not moved by what he lacked but by who had sent him. The sword meant to kill him became the instrument that silenced the giant and later the testimony he carried, proving that what rises against God’s anointed will ultimately serve God’s purpose. What the enemy trusts, God will transfer. What once threatened you will submit, and what once intimidated you will become evidence that the battle belongs to the Lord. Stand in obedience, speak from Heaven’s verdict, and watch God place in your hand what He has already judged.

George & Baht Rivka (Melbourne, Florida)

Around the World
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Israel-Palestinian Conflict
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Inside the United States
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Christian News
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