By REV. LUNA DINGAYAN
www.nordis.net

“You are coming against me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the Israelite armies, which you have defied. This very day the Lord will put you in my power; I will defeat you and cut off your head. And I will give the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds and animals to eat. Then the whole world will know that Israel has a God, and everyone here will see that the Lord does not need swords or spears to save his people. He is victorious in battle, and he will put all of you in our power.” — I Samuel 17:45-47

Chinese reclamations in the Spratlys

One of the most controversial issues we are currently facing as a nation is the continuing Chinese land reclamation project in the Spratlys. This mineral-rich group of small islands in the West Philippine Sea is claimed not only by China and the Philippines, but also by other small Asian nations, like Vietnam and Brunei. Instead of resolving this territorial issue through bilateral or multilateral talks, China has been imposing her claims by putting up physical structures in the area at the expense of the other claimants.

No doubt China is a superpower economically, politically, and even militarily. This makes us deeply worried that we might lose our territorial claims in the Spratlys. We are admittedly no match to Chinese economic, political, and military power. Some analysts would compare our situation to that of David and Goliath in the Old Testament. Hence, for our reflections, it might be good to look back into this Biblical story.

David and Goliath

According to the story, David was a young Israelite shepherd tending his father’s flock (cf. I Sam. 17). He was asked by his father onetime to bring the food for his brothers in the battlefield. There he met Goliath, a nine feet tall Philistine soldier feared by Israelites. The Israelites at that time were fighting against the Philistines who were trying to conquer their territory. No one among the Israelites had the courage to face this giant who had been challenging them to a one-on-one fight. They were so scared because of his size.

Apparently, we are no different in terms of our reaction to the Spratlys issue. We are also scared and terrorized, especially our leaders, by this bullying giant in the Asia region. For who can match the fire power of this largest country on earth in terms of army, economy, population and land area?

Beyond Fire Power

According to the Scriptures, the young shepherd David told King Saul of Israel, “Your Majesty, no one should be afraid of this Philistine! I will go and fight him.” The King answered, “No. How could you fight him? You’re just a boy, and he has been a soldier all his life!” But young David said, “The Lord has saved me from lions and bears, he will save me from this Philistine.”

David is a symbol of genuine faith and deep trust in the living God and of courage to face the powers that are enslaving and terrorizing people. True, David is just a boy, but history tells us that victory does not necessarily depend on fire power or military strength. The Vietnamese fought the Americans for almost 20 years and they won in the end, in spite of the fact that they are “small people” militarily, economically, politically, and even physically. Most often than not, victory depends so much on our courage and faith in ourselves and in the power beyond the fire power.

In the face-to-face encounter between David and Goliath, the giant belittled so much the shepherd boy. But David responded saying, “You are coming against me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the Israelite armies, which you have defied. This very day the Lord will put you in my power; I will defeat you and cut off your head. And I will give the bodies of the Philistine soldiers to the birds and animals to eat. Then the whole world will know that Israel has a God, and everyone here will see that the Lord does not need swords or spears to save his people. He is victorious in battle, and he will put all of you in our power” (I Samuel 17:45-47).

God works in wondrous ways

David fought the giant with what he had, not with what the giant had. Goliath had all the advance armaments at the time: sword, spear, and javelin, and David only had a sling shot and few stones. But David had something that the giant did not have, and that is, his great faith and trust in the living God who made the heavens and the earth, who guides the course of human history. David knew for sure that God will save him from the giant Philistine. For God had shown it many times in the past. God saved him from lions and bears, thus surely God will also save him from the enemy.

God works with what we have, not with what we don’t have. David only had a sling shot and few stones. Yet God through David made use of these crude armaments to defeat the giant.

We may not have a huge army and modern armaments like that of China, but we have the capabilities, and the laws are with us, to deal with this issue through peaceful diplomatic talks. But we must not give in to China’s bullying. Like David, we must have faith in ourselves and deep trust in God and what God can do with what we have. And may God’s empowering presence be upon us. # nordis.net