5k Every Day in the Month of May (Day 23)

I just keep chugging along. I went out for a 5k today, but then felt like maybe a 10k would be more fun… then I thought maybe I would just round it up to an even 7 mile run.

Yes. That sounded delightful.

So I wound up with 7 miles total, finishing in 55:22. I had an average pace of 7:55 per mile. That is a little slower than my 7 mile run on Saturday, but I think the weather was definitely a factor today. It was pretty warm. I didn’t quite have the same spring in my step as I did 2 days ago (I am afraid that lack of spring may continue to be true… and even get a bit worse as we veer towards May 31).

Today as I was running I kept thinking about the stone in my shoe from yesterday. Thankfully I did not have a stone in my shoe today, but I kept thinking about it as I was running.

It reminded me of the five smooth stones that David picked up prior to facing off against Goliath. I’m really not sure why it reminded me of that, since my shoe stone definitely was NOT smooth… but that is where my mind was at today.

…Saul clothed David with his armor. He put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail, and David strapped his sword over his armor. And he tried in vain to go, for he had not tested them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.” So David put them off. Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine. (1 Samuel 17:38-40 ESV)

Much could be said about David going into battle as himself instead of going into battle in Saul’s armor, but I’m going to skip past that part and go directly to the five smooth stones.

Why five?

Many people have commented that Goliath had four brothers, so the five stones amounted to one for Goliath and one for each of his (also giant) brothers!

It does seem to be true that Goliath did have four brothers (see 2 Samuel 21:15–22), but I don’t think that is what David was thinking.

To our knowledge, God never told David that it would only take one stone to defeat Goliath. For all David knew, it was going to take all five.

(Personally, I am amazed at his faith in only taking five. I’m thinking I would have tried to load my shepherd’s pouch with about 500.)

I think that David was exercising faith and being prepared. These two truths are not mutually exclusive from one another. I think you can do both.

Too often we tend to fall too far on one side or the other. We either make so many lists that we leave no room for God to simply speak to us, or we do nothing -waiting to hear His voice before we even consider what He may already be asking of us.

As children of God, it is good to have plans, and it is good to wait until we have clearly heard His voice, but those two things DO NOT have to be mutually exclusive.

Like David, I think we should be radical planners and radical listeners. It’s a both / and situation.

God has already given us more than enough directives to follow through on. Here are three for consideration:

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8 ESV)

…“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27 ESV)

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 ESV)

So while we’re listening intently for the voice of God in our lives (as we should be), let’s go ahead an make plans for how we’re going to actually live out what He has already clearly asked of us…

Amen?