05/22/2026
1 Samuel 17:38-39
And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. 39 And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
In this message, we will address expectations and how to deal with our limitations. These important issues surface in these verses like air bubbles rising in boiling water. They cannot stay hidden for long.
In February 2017, during a nationally televised awards ceremony for the film industry, a presenter accidentally announced the wrong winner for the Best Picture of the Year because he had been handed the incorrect envelope backstage. This blunder was reported on many news stations.
For several long seconds, the wrong group walked onto the stage, celebrating while cameras rolled live across the country. Then producers rushed out in front of everyone, whispered frantically to the presenter, and the correction had to be made publicly in front of millions of viewers. Talk about life's embarrassing moments, this was a doozy.
The audience grew silent. You could hear crickets. Haha. Some people laughed nervously. Others looked embarrassed for the people on stage.
The celebration instantly turned into confusion and humiliation. The incorrect winners were asked to leave the stage. They went from an emotional mountaintop to a deep valley within moments. It was one of those painfully awkward moments where everyone wished they could disappear like Star Trek's Captain Kirk in a transporter beam to the Starship Enterprise.
Oh, beloved, life contains moments like that. A wrong word… a wrong assumption… a wrong decision… and suddenly, everything feels uncomfortable, exposed, and uncertain.
Awkward moments remind us how fragile pride can be and how quickly confidence can collapse. They also reveal how much we need humility, grace, patience, and wisdom when things do not go according to plan, or we end up with egg on our face.
Awkward moments don't ruin your life; they reveal your resourcefulness. They uncover what is truly inside of you when the spotlight suddenly turns uncomfortable, and the room grows silent.
They show whether you can recover after stumbling, regain your composure after putting your foot in your mouth, and move forward when embarrassment makes you want to disappear.
Anyone can look confident when everything is smooth, polished, and successful, but character is revealed when plans unravel, words come out wrong, faces turn red, and pride takes a painful hit.
Awkward moments are often God's classroom for humility, patience, grace, wisdom, and resilience. They remind us that failure is not final. Thank God for that!
In this message, we find that David was put into an awkward situation with the king and his wise, appropriate response. His response to the king's offer led to his victory in the battle with Goliath. Let's begin and look at verse 38.
I. The Armour Assigned: "And Saul armed David with his armour" vs.38
Saul clothed David with his royal equipment, an armor that reflects human methods, human strength, and human expectations. Saul believed David needed this armor to protect himself, not realizing that David was already armed with a lethal weapon far greater than Saul's. He expected David to battle the giant with his armor and sword.
He believed this would give David a chance to defeat Goliath, when in reality, it would have created a disadvantage for David. Sometimes, beloved, people "assign" us burdens or methods that God never asked us to carry.
Their assumptions or expectations are wrong and create a burden instead of a blessing. Discernment is needed by you to know what is the right decision or the wrong one. It is in this incident that we find David battling another giant. This time it is the Battle with the Giant of Expectations.
The Battle with the Giant of Expectations
A few years ago, at a high school leadership retreat, the speaker walked onto the stage carrying an enormous hiking backpack. It was so stuffed and bulging that he could barely lift it. As he staggered forward, the students laughed.
Then he began pulling items out one by one: a dictionary, a basketball, a bowling ball, a stack of books, a toolbox, several jackets, and even a brick. He laid each item on the table and said, "This is what happens when we live under the expectations of everyone else."
* The dictionary—"People expect us to always say the right thing."
* The books—"Teachers, bosses, and leaders expect perfection."
* The toolbox—"Everyone expects us to fix their problems."
* The brick—"And some expectations simply crush us."
When the table was full, the backpack was finally empty. Then the speaker said: "None of these things are wrong, but none of them are mine. They were placed on me by others, and I carried them because I thought I had to."
Then he asked a question that silenced the entire room: "How far do you think you can walk in life carrying burdens that God never asked you to carry?" Let me ask, "Are you doing this now in your life, and is it sinking your spirit?"
This story amplifies what took place in David's life in these verses. He was expected to bear something that he was unable to bear, and he spoke up about it. We learn from David how he battled the Giant of Expectations.
The battle with the expectations of others is constant for everyone from childhood until the day we die. The question of the hour is, "How do we deal with them? What are some insights the Bible provides for us about this matter of dealing with expectations"? Thank God, the Bible provides solutions to this common and important circumstance. Let's take a look.
* Biblical Principles About Expectations
1. People's Expectations Can Be Misguided. Choose God's Direction Over Man's Pressure.
* Acts 5:29- "We ought to obey God rather than men."
The apostles refused to bow to religious expectations that contradicted God's will. Understand that not every expectation, even from well-meaning people, is God's assignment. This is why it is important to learn to lovingly say "no" when expectations block your obedience to God.
2. God Judges the Heart, Not the Image Others Want to Make You Fit Into.
* 1 Samuel 16:7- "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart."
People judge by externals and often expect you to "look" a certain way. That is what they expect from you. Saul's image of a warrior was being equipped with armor. That is why he put it on David.
Expectations often come from good motives but wrong discernment. You must discern between spiritual responsibility and pressure from the expectations of others. Saul wasn't trying to sabotage David. He just substituted armor for anointing.
Saul failed to see that this was not only a physical battle but also a spiritual one. Realize that expectations reflect others' experiences, not God's call on your life. Saul fought battles with armor; David fought battles with God's power and a sling.
Your guidelines for outward appearance should be based on God's Word, which stresses the importance of holiness, modesty, and Christlike behavior and actions, instead of filthiness, sloppiness, and sensuality. The Christian is to dress according to these guidelines. That is biblical and Christ-honoring.
In 1882, William Dunn Longstaff wrote a hymn that addressed these issues:
* It focuses on inner devotion, not outward show.
* It stresses quietness, holiness, and private communion over the demands of people.
* It calls believers to spiritual depth rather than external performance.
William was a wealthy English businessman and a generous supporter of evangelical ministries. One evening, he heard a sermon on 1 Peter 1:15, "Be ye holy, for I am holy." The preacher emphasized that holiness is not a public display, but a private walk with God, cultivated in stillness, prayer, and daily obedience.
That message struck Longstaff deeply because, by his own admission, he was surrounded by constant expectations of people—church committees, charities, public pressures, and the busyness of a well-known Christian businessman.
He went home feeling under conviction that his public usefulness had outpaced his private devotion, and that God was calling him back to quiet, personal fellowship. That night, he wrote this poem that became a church hymn.
Stanza one emphasized private communion with God over a flurry of public activity. It emphasizes inner holiness, not outer busyness.
Take time to be holy,
Speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always,
And feed on His Word.
The second stanza spoke about how the world pushes its pace and expectations, but God calls us to stillness. It directly rebukes the pressure to "rush with the world."
Take time to be holy,
The world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret
With Jesus alone.
In the third stanza, he reminds us not to let people push us ahead of God's timing or direction. It declares that spiritual depth requires time—not the approval of others.
Take time to be holy,
Let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him,
Whatever betide.
Longstaff's poem "Take Time to Be Holy" was his confession and correction. It was a reminder that busyness, responsibilities, and people's expectations must never pull a Christian away from the secret life with God.
Beloved, treasure your quiet time with God. Those minutes or hours alone with God are sapphires of serenity, pearls of peace, jade of joy, diamonds of delight, emeralds of encouragement, and rubies of revival. Your time with Lord is like a treasure chest for sure.
Your inner life with God is more important than outward expectations. This is why you need to walk with God and be concerned about what He expects of you.
Understand, you are not going to be able to meet everyone's expectations. Unbiblical expectations create guilt, pressure, and eventually burnout.
3. The Fear of the Opinions of Others Is a Snare
* Proverbs 29:25- "The fear of man bringeth a snare."
A man and his young son were walking to town with their donkey. They weren't riding it, just walking beside it. As they passed through the first village, people whispered, "What foolishness! They have a donkey, and neither one is riding it!"
So the man lifted his son onto the donkey. When they passed through the next village, people scoffed, "Look at that selfish child! Making his poor father walk in the dust!" So the man took the boy down, and he climbed onto the donkey instead.
At the next village, people said, "What a cruel father! He rides while his little boy has to walk!" Embarrassed, the man pulled the boy back up, and now both were riding the donkey. But in the next town, they heard, "Both of them riding that poor animal? What cruelty! They should be ashamed!"
Now desperate to please everyone, the man and his son got off the donkey, tied the donkey's legs to a pole, and tried to carry the donkey into town. As they crossed a bridge, they stumbled. The donkey slid off the pole and fell into the river. With no donkey lifeguards on the scene, the donkey drowned.
The man walked away shaking his head and said, "When you try to please everyone, you usually lose what matters most." He was right. Trying to please everybody will have a detrimental effect on any person. It can affect you in these ways:
* frazzle your abilities and strength,
* fray your affections or gentleness,
* frustrate your attitude,
* fuel your anger and animosity,
* forsake your allegiance to others,
* fumble your aspirations and dreams,
* fracture your accord or unity with others,
* falter your attentiveness from dismay and distractions,
* flare your agitation, annoyance, anguish, and aggravation.
In 2025, a young corporate executive in South Korea went viral after collapsing emotionally during a live-stream company presentation. For months, he had been trying to satisfy impossible expectations from supervisors, coworkers, clients, and even followers on social media.
He worked late into the night, answered messages at all hours, and constantly altered his decisions to avoid disappointing people. During the presentation, after receiving conflicting criticism from several managers at once, he suddenly stopped speaking, lowered his head, and broke down in tears before the cameras were cut off.
News outlets later reported that he admitted he felt trapped trying to please everyone while losing himself in the process. The pressure to gain universal approval had drained him emotionally and mentally.
Many Christians live the same way spiritually. They become exhausted trying to meet every expectation, avoid every criticism, and keep everyone happy. But no servant of God can carry the weight of universal approval. Peace comes when we seek first to please the Lord rather than trying to satisfy every voice around us.
This message was preached on Wednesday night, May 20, 2026, at Lincoln Land Baptist Church.
