Two students from the same department in my school were admitted to NTU graduate school. As the news was announced last month, both of their names were posted on the events board of their department office as well as various entrances of the university. Not only the department but also the school (their parents,too) are so proud of their excellent achievements that they can promote their program and attract more students to come to the university.

As David asked King Saul let him fight Goliath, a Philistine giant, in 1 Samuel 17, Saul was amazed at David request for fighting against Goliath. “There is no way you can go against this Philistine, You are only a boy, and he is fighting soldier” (v. 33). But David convinced the king by telling him how God had helped him kill lions and bears when he tended his father’s sheep. The king finally consented. After David left, the king asked his general, but the general knew nothing about David. As David returned with Goliath’s head in his hand, the king asked David, “Tell me about your father, my boy.” “My father is Jesse from the town of Bethlehem,” David replied.

King Saul had thought David must have come from a military or royal family. His father must have been well known in the country. On the contrary, David was only from an ordinary family and his father was just like another father. What made David from other boys or soldiers was his trust in the Lord and reliance on this Almighty God. As David came against Goliath shouting, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord Almighty” (v. 45). It was not his family background, his bravery or his might, but the power of God that helped him defeat his enemy.

Oftentimes we think that a person’s success is attributed to his or her family background or school’s education, but it may not be so.