This week’s devotions are based on week 3 of David: Challenged- The Battle Belongs to the Lord! (WATCH HERE)
1 Samuel 17:8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
… 16 For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
Forty days can feel like a lifetime when you are waiting for something to change. In 1 Samuel 17:16, Goliath steps forward morning and evening for forty days, issuing the same challenge and spreading the same fear. Nothing new happens. No progress is made. The threat simply lingers. Israel is not defeated by the giant’s strength so much as by the slow erosion of courage that comes from repeated intimidation.
Scripture often uses forty days or forty nights to describe seasons like this. These are not random stretches of time. They are moments when God allows pressure to persist so that hearts are revealed and faith is refined. After exploring the land for forty days, the Israelites returned with evidence of God’s promise in their hands, yet fear ruled their conclusions. Only Caleb and Joshua trusted that the Lord who brought them that far would carry them through. The forty days exposed where confidence truly rested.
Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai, learning to rely on God’s presence rather than his own leadership strength. Elijah traveled forty days to Mount Horeb, exhausted and discouraged, only to discover that God was still at work even when the journey felt unbearable. Jonah warned Nineveh for forty days, a period that allowed repentance to take root. And Jesus himself fasted for forty days in the wilderness, facing temptation not with speed or spectacle, but with steady trust in the Word of God.
In each case, forty days marked a threshold. Something had to be learned before something could change.
That is what is happening in the Valley of Elah. For forty days, Israel is being invited to decide what will shape them more deeply. Will fear determine their future, or will trust in the living God take hold again? The waiting is not wasted. It reveals that Saul’s army has forgotten who fights for them. At the same time, God is preparing David, shaping a heart that remembers past deliverance and trusts future faithfulness.
Waiting often works this way in our lives too. We pray for quick answers, but God may be forming deeper trust. We ask for relief, but God may be strengthening perseverance. Prolonged uncertainty can feel like abandonment, yet Scripture shows that it is often the very place where faith grows roots.
When challenges stretch on longer than expected, we are tempted to assume God is silent or distant. But forty days reminds us that God is present in the waiting. He is exposing false confidences, loosening fear’s grip, and preparing us for a faith that can stand when the moment finally arrives.
The battle may not be resolved immediately, but trust can be formed long before the victory is seen.
Reflect: What has this “forty-day” season revealed about my trust in God?
How can I remain faithful even when answers are slow to come?
Prayer: Faithful God, you see the seasons of waiting that test our patience and expose our fears. Forgive us for assuming delay means absence. Teach us to trust you in the long stretches, to listen for your voice, and to believe that you are shaping us even when change feels slow. Strengthen our faith as we wait on you. Amen.